Sen. Muth Sponsors Bill Offering Tax Relief To Veterans

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with Rep. Hill-Evans on this important proposal to provide property tax and rent relief to our recent veteran population – regardless of age,” Muth said in a statement.

Community Gathering 1 Year After Ashwood Apartments Fire

NORTH COVENTRY TOWNSHIP, PA — One year after the Ashwood Apartments went up in a blaze that displaced 50 families, officials are lauding the “Herculean” community effort the followed and that they say demonstrates what it means to love your...

PA Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Replace General Assistance Program

Back in June, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed House Bill 33, which eliminated General Assistance and the benefits that came with it. Now, a new Bill has been introduced that would restore those benefits. General Assistance provided 11,000 vulnerable Pennsylvanians...

Lawmakers react to Sen. Folmer’s resignation

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The resignation of Republican state Sen. Mike Folmer, following his arrest on child pornography charges, shocked his constituents and his colleagues in Harrisburg. “I did talk to him on a regular basis towards the beginning of my tenure,...

Otten and Muth to Hold Series of Town Halls this Month

EXTON, September 3, 2019 – State Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, D-Chester, will hold three town hall meetings this month to address topics such as the cost of living, youth mental health and more. Sen. Katie Muth will co-host two of the three meetings. Town halls will...

Pa. just eliminated general assistance. The need for it hasn’t gone away

By Katie Muth, Maria Collett and Lindsey Williams

This week marks the end of General Assistance (GA) as we know it. The life-saving program that has helped thousands of Pennsylvanians get back on their feet and bridge the gap to self-sustainability ended on Aug. 1.

After a difficult battle through the legislative process and an underhanded maneuver to tie the elimination of GA to millions of dollars of hospitals, we accept that the program will cease to exist. However, that does not mean that the need has vanished.

Lawmakers talking death penalty at State Capitol

Executions have become a rarity in Pennsylvania with Governor Tom Wolf instituting a moratorium on the death penalty. Now, some lawmakers want to take it a step further and abolish the death penalty in the state.

A Pennsylvania inmate has not been executed this century with the last one happening in 1999, but there are still plenty of inmates sitting on death row and some lawmakers think it’s doing more harm than good.

Pa. AG Shapiro holds roundtable on Title X at Planned Parenthood office

LOWER POTTSGROVE — Attorney General Josh Shapiro was in Lower Pottsgrove Friday to discuss reproductive rights and Title X funding.

“Every day we are fighting in court to protect women’s rights and particularly to protect healthcare and reproductive rights. Fights that we’ve won, 20, 30, 40 years ago, we’re fighting again,” Democrat Shapiro said to the group.

PA Legislators Propose Abolishing The Death Penalty

Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania have announced legislation that would abolish the death penalty in the state.

In presenting the Death Penalty Repeal Act, legislators argued that too many innocent inmates wound up death row due to an imperfect justice system.

Sen. Muth: End Pa. death penalty

A state senator whose district includes portions of Chester, Montgomery and Berks counties joined two Philadelphia legislators Tuesday in calling for the end of the death penalty in Pennsylvania.

State Sen Katie Muth, D-44th, of Royersford, announced the introduction of a bill that would repeal the use of capital punishment in the state, alongside state Sen. Sharif Street, D-3rd, and state Rep. Christopher Rabb, D-200th, both of Philadelphia.

Top environmental official’s reconfirmation hearing delayed over pipeline concerns

A state Senate committee postponed a planned confirmation hearing for one of Pennsylvania’s top environmental officials, after a bipartisan group of lawmakers raised concerns about his agency’s involvement in controversial gas pipeline project.

The Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee met Tuesday morning to vote on the nominations of Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell and Cindy Adams Dunn, secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Limerick Fire Department receives $84K state grant for consolidation

LIMERICK — State Sen. Katie Muth, D-44th Dist., has announced that the Limerick Fire Department has been approved for grant funding that will help the department’s consolidation efforts.

The department will receive $84,520 to assist with legal fees and other costs associated with renaming and rebranding.

Pennsylvania lawmakers unveil bill to end death penalty

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A group of lawmakers plans to introduce legislation that would end the death penalty in Pennsylvania.

Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), Sen. Katie Muth (D-Berks, Chester, Montgomery), and Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) say the death penalty has proven to be unsuccessful as a crime deterrent, incredibly costly, and a flawed system of punishment.

Democratic lawmakers seek end to death penalty in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG — Sen. Katie Muth (D-Berks, Chester, Montgomery), Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), and Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) were joined by advocates as they called for ending the death penalty in Pennsylvania.

The lawmakers are introducing legislation in their respective chambers to repeal the penalty that is proven to be unsuccessful as a crime deterrent, incredibly costly, and a flawed system of punishment.

Pa. lawmakers introducing legislation to end death penalty in the state

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania lawmakers announced legislation Tuesday aimed at ending the death penalty in the state.

Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), Sen. Katie Muth (D-Berks, Chester, Montgomery), and Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) are introducing legislation in their respective chambers to end the death penalty.

California Synagogue Shooting: Pa. officials react to violence at Congregation Chabad in Poway

It was a scene all-too-familiar: People gathering in a show of solidarity and support outside Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue.

But this time, the vigil wasn’t for locals, but rather for Congregation Chabad in Poway, Calif., near San Diego, which left one person dead, and three more wounded. The California shooting, on the last day of Passover, came six months to the day of the deadly shooting at Tree of Life, which claimed the lives of 11 people.

Suburban Philadelphia state senators seek answers from DEP chief over Mariner East pipeline

A bipartisan group of state senators from Chester and Delaware counties wants to put off the reconfirmation of Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell until multiple criminal probes of Sunoco’s Mariner East pipeline projects are complete.

Led by Chester County Democrat Andy Dinniman, the group asked Sen. Gene Yaw, majority chair of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, and Sen. John Yudichak, the minority chair, to delay what is typically a routine hearing on reappointment, which is scheduled for Tuesday.

Pa. state senators push for student refinancing plan

Rider Brandau is a low-income, first-generation student at Elizabethtown College.

“When students borrow money for college, they agree to pay back that money,” Brandau said. “I will owe roughly $30,000 upon graduation, which is a fair price for what I have received from Elizabethtown.”

Berks County social workers urge commissioners to keep negotiating

Caseworkers for Children & Youth Services and in the county prison have been working since January 2018 without a contract.

More than a dozen social workers who serve the county as caseworkers for Children & Youth Services and in the county prison came to the Berks County commissioners meeting Thursday to encourage them to cooperate as contract negotiations continue.

Lawmakers talk about $15 minimum wage at town hall meeting in Reading

Reading, PA — When talking about raising the state’s $7.25 minimum wage to $15 an hour, state Sen. Judy Schwank said she sometimes hears from the owners of small businesses who say the increase could put them out of business.

“But when the owner of 13 McDonald’s restaurants tells me to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour, that he welcomes it, it makes me feel a little bit better about it,” Schwank said.

Pottstown singled out for early education leadership

POTTSTOWN — As the state budget season kicked off with the presentation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget, early education advocates kicked off their efforts to ensure that budget funds pre-kindergarten education.