Senate Democratic Policy Committee

Senator Katie Muth, Chair

Please contact the Dem Policy Team with any questions at (717) 787-1398 or via email at dempolicy@pasenate.com for information regarding the Policy Committee.

Upcoming Policy Hearings

MARCH

26 Blighted Property

Friday, March 26, 2021 | 10:00 a.m.

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Save the Date

Wednesday, March 31, 2021 | 10:00 a.m.

Housing Crisis

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Earth Day, Environmental

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Past Policy Hearings

Check below to view past policy hearing including video and testimony! Questions, comments or suggestions about the hearings, fill out the form below!

A People’s Budget: The Environment

February 25, 2021

PA Senate & House Dems Host Hearing on ‘A People’s Budget: The Environment’

Harrisburg – February 25, 2021 – At the request of Sen. Amanda M. Cappelletti (D- Delaware/Montgomery), Sen. Nikil Saval (D- Philadelphia), Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D- Philadelphia), Rep. Rick Krajewski (D- Philadelphia), Rep. Sara Innamorato (D- Allegheny), and Rep. Danielle Friel Otten (D- Chester), the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee joined the House Democratic Policy Committee to hold a virtual hearing on ‘A People’s Budget: The Environment.’ This hearing discussed the current and future funding of environmental protection oversight, impacted communities, and public health concerns related to industry activity and legacy pollution.

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Panel 1: Impacted Pennsylvanians

Lois Bower-Bjornson, Washington County
Rosemary Fuller, Chester County
Erica Tarr, Glen Mills
Sylvia Bennett, South Philadelphia
Ray Kemble, Susquehanna County

Panel 2: Communities, State Investment, and the Economy

Panel 3: Public Health

Final Agenda - Racial & Gender Bias in the Courts 3

Racial and Gender Bias in the Courts

February 19, 2021

PA Senate & House Democrats Join PA Legislative Black Caucus for Hearing on Racial and Gender Bias in the Courts

Harrisburg – February 19, 2021 – At the request of Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus (PLBC) chair Rep. Donna Bullock (D- Philadelphia), vice-chair Rep. Summer Lee (D- Allegheny), and PLBC members Sen. Anthony H. Williams (D- Delaware/Philadelphia) and Sen. Sharif Street (D- Philadelphia), the Pennsylvania Senate and House Democratic Policy Committees held a virtual public hearing to discuss racial and gender bias in the court systems across the state. This hearing built off the continuing efforts of the Philadelphia City Council and Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson’s work toward justice in the Philadelphia court system.

“Pervasive racial and gender bias in the Pennsylvania judiciary cannot be tolerated. This policy hearing not only gives us an opportunity to listen to personal accounts of bias and unfair treatment but to also gather information about the environment and systems that create and perpetuate these biases,” Bullock said. “As lawmakers, we have an obligation to take that information to advocate for comprehensive court reforms to address bias, systemic racism and other institutional challenges that threaten the public’s faith in our justice system.”

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Final Agenda - Racial & Gender Bias in the Courts 3

Maternal Health and Vaccine Safety Amidst COVID-19

February 10, 2021

PA Senate Dems Joined PA House Dems & the PA Women’s Health Caucus for Hearing on Maternal Health and Vaccine Safety Amidst COVID-19

Harrisburg – February 11, 2021 – Yesterday, at the request of PA Women’s Health Caucus chairs Sen. Judy Schwank (D- Berks), Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D- Delaware/Montgomery), Rep. Mary Jo Daley (D- Montgomery), and Rep. Morgan Cephas (D- Philadelphia), the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee joined the House Democratic Policy Committee held a virtual public hearing to discuss maternal health amidst COVID-19.

“Since the beginning of this pandemic, I have been deeply concerned about both the physical and mental health of mothers and families experiencing childbirth and caring for babies in the shadow of COVID-19,” Schwank said. “We must ensure that mothers and babies are receiving the best care possible and are receiving the support and services they need to maintain a healthy life during and after this pandemic.”

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Dr. Mark Woodland, M.S., M.D., FACOG, Chair & Clinical Professor OB-GYN, Reading Hospital/Tower Health, Interim Academic Chair, OBGYN Drexel University College of Medicine
Dr. Hyagriv “Hy” Simhan, UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, Division Chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Dr. Richard Beigi, UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, President, OB-GYN’
Dr. Aasta Mehta, M.D., M.P.P., FACOG – Philadelphia MMRC, Philadelphia Dept of Health, PA MMRC
Dr. Sindhu K. Srinivas, M.D., MSCE, Director of Obstetrical Services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, Physician Lead, Women’s Health Service Line, Penn Medicine
Nicole Chaney, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Reading Hospital
Markita Glenn, Doula, Pettaway Pursuit Foundation
Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, Maternal Fetal Health Specialist, Baystate Health
Dr. Richard S. Legro, M.D, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Public Health Sciences, Penn State Health College of Medicine and Penn State Health
Dr. Catharine I. Paules, M.D., Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, Penn State Health College of Medicine and Penn State Health
Dr. Rhonda C. Boyd, Ph.D., Psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Raising the Minimum Wage for PA

January 18, 2021

PA Senate Democrats Hold Hearing on Raising the Minimum Wage for PA in Honor of MLK Day of Service

Harrisburg – January 18, 2021 – At the request of State Senators Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia), Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia), and John Kane (D- Chester/Delaware) the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a virtual public hearing on raising the minimum wage for Pennsylvanians. The hearing was held on Martin Luther King, Jr’s Day of Service to honor his legacy of fighting for worker’s rights and economic justice.

“It is unacceptable that Pennsylvania continues to allow its minimum wage to be the poverty wage of $7.25 an hour,” Haywood said. “We hold this hearing today on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of service to continue the work that Dr. King started demanding dignity and respect for all workers, and that starts by paying workers a living wage.”

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Agenda - 1.18. 2021 - Minimum Wage

Impact of COVID-19 on Prisons

January 7, 2021

PA Senate Democrats Host PA Dept. of Corrections Sec. Wetzel & Others for Hearing on Impact of COVID-19 on Prisons

Harrisburg – January 7, 2021 − At the request of state Senators Anthony H. Williams (D- Delaware/Philadelphia) and Sharif Street (D- Philadelphia) the Senate Democratic Policy Committee today held a virtual public hearing on the impacts of COVID-19 on the communities, employees and inmates related to our state prison system.

“COVID-19 spares no one, including myself, in who it chooses to infect,” Williams said. “While the state has acknowledged the issue of COVID-19 spreading through our incarcerated populations and made efforts to release select inmates to reduce populations, we still have far too many incarcerated individuals and correctional staff members becoming infected with and dying from COVID-19.”

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Agenda_COVID_In_Prisons_1.7.21

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PA Senate Dems Joined PA House Dems & the PA Women’s Health Caucus for Hearing on Maternal Health and Vaccine Safety Amidst COVID-19

Senator Katie Muth

Cappelletti continued, “Women, particularly women of color, have been the most detrimentally impacted by this pandemic. Not only must they navigate health and safety for themselves, but they are often tasked as the primary caregivers and providers for their children and family. As we discuss all aspects of healthcare and the impact COVID-19 has had on women, we must ensure that women’s health and the health of their children are not left out of this conversation.”

Dr. Richard Beigi, an OB-GYN practitioner and president of UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, spoke about the many concerns that pregnant women have had about getting the COVID-19 vaccine, as pregnant women were not specifically included in the clinical trials. He said that he is an advocate for including women in clinical trials from the start.

“There is no reason to think that these vaccines are harmful to pregnant women or their babies,” Dr. Beigi said. He stated that while he has seen no evidence to not vaccinate pregnant women, those who chose not to get the vaccination during their pregnancy should still be fully supported in their informed decision.

During her testimony, Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, a maternal fetal health specialist at Baystate Health in Massachusetts, also spoke on the inclusion of women in clinical trials because, “…excluding women from vaccine trials during a global pandemic really is experimentation in itself when we know that they are at high risk of the disease.”

Dr. Catharine I. Paules, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Penn State Health College of Medicine and Penn State Health, has worked at the National Institute of Health with Dr. Anthony Fauci, and is currently pregnant herself. She shared that she chose to get the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 after her pregnancy was at full term, and after reading the medical literature from the United Kingdom about the variant of COVID-19 that anecdotally did have more severe impacts on pregnant women in that country.

Dr. Morgan shared that Baystate Health in conjunction with University of Massachusetts Medical School, has produced documents in 10 different languages to assist pregnant women who are currently making the decision on getting their COVID-19 vaccine, and that information has been downloaded over 35,000 times. She also stated that COVID-19 has had other significant determinants of health including low income, food and housing insecurity and crowding, among other factors.

“The fact that it’s 2021, and women of color are still three times as likely to die giving birth than other women is unacceptable,” said Rep. Cephas. “Access to quality and affordable care should never be based on skin color or zip code, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened these disparities. We must now take what we discussed at today’s hearing and turn it into substantial reforms that reduces improves maternal health outcomes across the commonwealth.”

Dr. Sindhu K. Srinivas, the Director of Obstetrical Services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said, “I am among many of us who are on the front lines of the maternal morbidity and mortality crisis and am deeply troubled by rising morbidity and mortality rates and associated disparities.”

Dr. Srinivas said that the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the work of her and her colleagues to pilot programs out of Penn Medicine that assist women immediately after they have given birth and go home with their babies. She said that 50% of maternal morbidity and mortality actually occur in this time frame.

Increasing access to broadband internet, increasing digital literacy, making sure that technological resources are available in multiple languages, and making sure that telehealth is reimbursable by insurance companies and Medicaid are all essential in continuing to create programs that increase parity and decease maternal morbidity and mortality, said Dr. Srinivas.

Data has shown that there are an estimated 700 pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. every year, and three out of five of those deaths are preventable. While maternal mortality rates are declining in other developing countries, but they are rising across the United States.

“The public health social distancing protocols put in place during the pandemic have also increased social isolation. This has left new mothers lacking social support, social interactions, and help with childcare,” Dr. Rhonda C. Boyd, a psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said. “For perinatal women who are of color, especially Black, Latina, and Indigenous mothers, they are also disproportionally being impacted by family members contracting COVID-19 or dying from it. This situation understandably results in increased stress, worry and grief.”

“The impact of this pandemic on women with young families cannot be measured, however, with already limited access to high quality healthcare especially for pregnant persons of color, we must measure the impact to find ways to increase care now and in the future,” Rep. Daley said.

Demia Horsley, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Healthy Start, Inc. of Pittsburgh, stated the importance of doulas in the birthing and post-partum experience of many mothers. Horsley said that pandemic restrictions allowing only one person to be with a woman during birth can be detrimental to a woman’s health during and after birth. Horsley said that a partner may not be the best advocate for a women during the birth and postpartum process, and increasing access to doula services for prenatal, birthing, and postpartum women will create better outcomes in maternal mortality and addressing postpartum depression early and effectively.

“I am so grateful that we were able to bring together the PA Women’s Health Caucus, along with our colleagues in the House, to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on women’s health now, and the impact that this will have on healthcare system for years to come,” Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks, Chester, Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said. “These conversations and recommendations are essential to crafting the policies that will protect the lives of moms and babies.”

“Giving a voice to women’s health and the inequities amongst women of color is extremely important and I’m thrilled my colleagues are having these conversations. Concerns may seem routine for medical professionals, but it’s a whole new ballgame for women and we must make sure they are heard,” Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, Chair of the House Democratic Policy Committee, said.

Senators who attended included Senator Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D- Allegheny), Nikil Saval (D- Philadelphia), John Kane (D- Chester/Delaware), Wayne Fontana (D- Allegheny), Lindsey Williams (D- Allegheny), Sharif Street (D- Philadelphia), and Tim Kearney (D- Chester/Delaware).

House Representatives who attended this hearing include Bridget Kosierowski (D- Lackawanna), Joe Webster (D- Montgomery), Melissa Shusterman (D- Chester/Montgomery), Mike Schlossberg (D- Lehigh), Elizabeth Fiedler (D- Philadelphia), Pam DeLissio (D- Montgomery/Philadelphia), Perry Warren (D- Bucks), Kyle Mullins (D- Lackawanna), Ben Sanchez (D- Montgomery), Pam Snyder (D- Greene/Fayette County/Washington), Mike Zabel (Delaware), Regina Young (D- Philadelphia County/Delaware), Joe Hohenstein (D- Philadelphia), Carol Hill-Evans (D- York), Dan Frankel (D- Allegheny), and Summer Lee (D- Allegheny).

Below are all who testified in today’s hearing:

Dr. Mark Woodland, M.S., M.D., FACOG, Chair & Clinical Professor OB-GYN, Reading Hospital/Tower Health, Interim Academic Chair, OBGYN Drexel University College of Medicine
Dr. Hyagriv “Hy” Simhan, UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, Division Chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Dr. Richard Beigi, UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, President, OB-GYN’
Dr. Aasta Mehta, M.D., M.P.P., FACOG – Philadelphia MMRC, Philadelphia Dept of Health, PA MMRC
Dr. Sindhu K. Srinivas, M.D., MSCE, Director of Obstetrical Services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, Physician Lead, Women’s Health Service Line, Penn Medicine
Nicole Chaney, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Reading Hospital
Markita Glenn, Doula, Pettaway Pursuit Foundation
Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, Maternal Fetal Health Specialist, Baystate Health
Dr. Richard S. Legro, M.D, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Public Health Sciences, Penn State Health College of Medicine and Penn State Health
Dr. Catharine I. Paules, M.D., Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, Penn State Health College of Medicine and Penn State Health
Dr. Rhonda C. Boyd, Ph.D., Psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Demia Horsley, M.P.H., CLC (DONA), LCCE, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Healthy Start, Inc.

The full recording of this hearing can be found at senatormuth.com/policy.

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PA Senate & House Dems Host Hearing on ‘A People’s Budget: The Environment’

“The state budget is a demonstration of our priorities as legislators. Today’s hearing reaffirmed that we need to re-evaluate our priorities and invest in public health and the environment. Our state is vast, beautiful, and diverse. No area should be off-limits to families and children to live in because of pollution or the threat of adverse health effects. It is a human right to have access to clean air and water. We are in derelict of our duties as elected officials by not prioritizing the environment throughout all of our budget negotiations and policy decisions from here on out,” Cappelletti said.

‘’Pennsylvanians deserve a budget and a legislature that is putting environmental protection and conservation at the center of our legislative priorities and budgets,” Sen. Katie Muth, Senate Democratic Policy Committee Chair, said. “I see the results of weak regulations and inadequate oversight of permitted projects in the gas and oil industry, causing harm to both environmental and public health. There are people in our state across many counties that do not have clean drinking water because of recklessness by corporations who only value their bottom dollar, ruining the lives of many of our neighbors by contaminating the air, land and water. This is happening in my own Senate district, as our communities deal with the related willful noncompliance of pipeline operators that pay their fines and continue to endanger our neighborhoods and local waterways. We must demand better because we have a constitutional right to clean air and water.”

“We know that the communities that have faced the most burden from climate and racial injustice are the same communities targeted by the dirty fossil fuel economy for placement of toxic industry and waste,” Bishop Dwayne Royster, of the POWER Interfaith organization, said.

The People’s Budget roadmap focuses on the environment specifically because of the adverse effects that result from not dedicating the proper resources to environmental and land management and its effect on the populations of Pennsylvania.

“A budget that supports a green transition is an opportunity for community-driven development on multiple scales. It should include communities in shaping their futures away from a fossil fuel economy. This budget can be utilized to create a pathway that supports individualized counseling for workers, job creation in new industries that incorporate green economy principles, which can be used to address energy efficiency, clean air and water solutions, and generally increase the quality of life for all people, especially those left behind,” Bishop Royster said.

“The effects of the climate crisis are experienced in my urban district in Philadelphia, in suburban towns and communities, and in rural and farming areas alike. During the recent Texas Blackout, we witnessed the horrific human cost of climate denial. As with all of the world’s harms, this cost is borne disproportionately by Black and brown communities, and by communities that are poor. We cannot afford additional delay. We owe it to each other, to our children, and to the world to devote our collective energies and resources to this fight immediately,” Sen. Saval said.

Rep. Fiedler continued, “Too many conversations about climate change and a green economy leave out impacted populations that see the effects that bad climate policy have in real time. Today’s hearing, the first in a series dedicated to A People’s Budget, is focused on getting to the policies and budget priorities that protect our air and water, and that ensures equity and prosperity for all people in Pennsylvania in the green economy.”

“For years we knew that Pennsylvania had been chronically underfunding and understaffing its critical resource agencies, with the worst-hit being the Commonwealth’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP),” Ezra Thrush, Director of Government Affairs at PennFuture, said.

Thrush said that budget cuts over the last twenty years have left the DEP down 900 jobs and nearly down nearly 40% in funding since 2002. Research by PennFuture shows that a key way to bring about revenue generation for Pennsylvania’s investments in environmental protection, clean energy, climate, and conservation initiatives is to reign in our out of control giveaway of money to polluting fossil fuel industries in the Commonwealth which were estimated to be up to $649 billion annually.

PennFuture’s report, “A Green Stimulus & Recovery Platform For Pennsylvania” showed that state and federal investments of about $2.83 billion in annual investments over a timeframe of recovery would preserve or create as many as 389,000 jobs.

Stephen Herzenberg of the Keystone Research Center also presented the “ReImagine Appalachia” campaign and its potential economic impact in Pennsylvania. Herzenberg said that ReImagine is a four-state project focused on the Ohio River Valley spanning SW PA, SE OH, WV, eastern KY and on how to ensure that an aggressive response to climate change can boost economic opportunity and benefit working people.

The hearing also featured testifiers from four different regions of Pennsylvania who have personally experienced the devastating effects of the fossil fuel industry causing numerous health and safety issues for them and their families.

“I have no idea what contaminants we have been exposed to,” Rosemary Fuller said. She and her family live in an area of Chester County severely impacted by the Sunoco Mariner East Pipeline. Her family’s water well was exposed to chemicals used in pipeline construction making it unusable, the piping in her family’s home must be replaced due to sediment and chemical buildup, and the only useable drinking and cooking water they have is provided to them by Sunoco in five gallon jugs. Fuller and her family still have no idea how many contaminants they have been exposed to from water when they bathe or the contaminants in the air they have been exposed to as construction occurred in their neighborhood.

Thrush, of PennFuture said, “Pennsylvania’s unconventional gas industry also caused at least $11.1 billion in external damages in FY (fiscal year) 2019, including water well contamination, negative health impacts like asthma and cancers, and damages to public infrastructure. These damages cost an average of $867 per resident.”

Sylvia Bennett of South Philadelphia says that numerous family members, including her two daughters, have gotten cancer due to their exposure to the natural gas refinery in her South Philly neighborhood. She also relayed her experience of terror when that refinery exploded in 2019, “No one knew where to go or what was happening.”

Bennett was also involved with the Philly Thrive organization that had a large part in shutting down the refinery.

Dr. Ned Ketyer spoke about the childhood cancer epidemic occurring in Western Pennsylvania. He said that while the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health (DOH) and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) have both done studies on the effects of industrial pollution, these agencies are underfunded and seem unmotivated at this time to seriously deal with these potentially deadly issues.

“The people of this commonwealth expect public agencies to be the watchdog of industry to protect their health, safety, and environment. For years our legislative budget has not equipped these agencies with the funds to independently fulfill this mission. During this hearing, we will hear about the real-life, long-term consequences of those decisions from residents, as well as policy experts,” Rep. Innamorato said.

“For too long we’ve approached this budget conversation from the perspective of exploiting our commonwealth’s environmental resources, communities, and people for the profits of large corporations, ignoring article 1, section 27 of our constitution – The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment,” Rep. Otten said. “It’s time to have an intellectually honest conversation about energy, the environment, public health, and safety and a budget that centers the PEOPLE of Pennsylvania over the profits of corporations.”

Below are all who testified in today’s hearing:

Lois Bower-Bjornson, Washington County, Environmentally Impacted Pennsylvanian
Rosemary Fuller, Delaware County, Environmentally Impacted Pennsylvanian
Sylvia Bennett, South Philadelphia, Environmentally Impacted Pennsylvanian
Ray Kemble, Susquehanna County, Environmentally Impacted Pennsylvanian
Bishop Dwayne Royster, POWER Interfaith
Ezra Thrush, PennFuture
Stephen Herzenberg, Keystone Research Center
Dr. Edward “Ned” Ketyer, SWPA Environmental Health Project
Heaven Sensky, Center for Coalfield Justice

The full recording of this hearing can be found at senatormuth.com/policy or on the PA Senate Democratic Facebook.

PA Senate & House Democrats Join PA Legislative Black Caucus for Hearing on Racial and Gender Bias in the Courts

In 2019, the Center for Urban and Racial Equity (CURE) released an equity organizational assessment of the First Judicial District (FJD) of Pennsylvania. The report found that there was a culture of nepotism, mistrust, and racial tension within the FJD. These feelings were particularly significant among women of color.

President of the Court of Common Pleas in the First Judicial District, Judge Idee Fox, spoke at the hearing about what the FJD learned in the CURE report, and said that the decision not to immediately release the report was a mistake made it seem like there was something to hide. President Judge Fox said that the report is a “roadmap” on what the FJD can do better in regards to transparency and equitable representation in the courts.

“While it’s never been a secret to low-income people of color who live in neighborhoods like mine that justice is not blind, the Center for Urban and Racial Equity report made it explicit that we have a long way still to go in this space,” Williams said. “In order to restore faith in America’s justice system, especially for those who live in overpoliced and underfunded communities, we must work together at every level of government to erase any bias with respect to race or gender. Today’s hearing is about getting facts on the record to highlight the vital importance of addressing the concerns raised in the report and by those who have first-hand experience with racism and sexism in our judiciary.”

Notably, the CURE report found that among white judges and staff at FJD, there was a disbelief that structural and institutional racism played a part in modern society at all. Changes to organizational culture, hiring and advancement procedures, communication and decision making, programs and services, facilities and operations, and community engagement and partnerships were all recommended by CURE for the FJD.

Judge Karen Simmons testified about an incident that happened in her robing room in the FJD where she serves as a municipal judge. Judge Simmons said that note left for her was disturbing to her, and she is confident that it was left for her by another member of the court.

“I, as a sitting judge, received a racist, and misogynistic threat left in my robing room as I sat on the bench in my courtroom, what type of experience are the Black and Brown people of Philadelphia having when they enter our courtrooms?” Judge Simmons posed in her testimony.

President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, said that the Pennsylvania state Senate can do their part in making sure that qualified and diverse candidates can be appointed to courts across the state when they make their judicial appointments.

Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D- Bucks), Democratic Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that he would make sure President Judge Clark’s recommendations were considered as the committee made future court nominations.

“There is no reason that we should be sitting back and waiting for change to just happen when we have a significant reports and testimonials from judges, staff, and those who have had to navigate the Pennsylvania court systems that race and gender bias are absolutely occurring and effecting every aspect of people’s lives and futures,” Street said. “I have advocated for many years, and will continue to do so, to implement immediate changes to our judicial system because it is women, Black people and people of color, and their families who are suffering the most.”

Celeste Trusty, Pennsylvania State Policy Director for the Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) said, “Pennsylvania has become one of the most incarcerated places in the country. Entrenched in our carceral culture, and even by design, is the fact that Black people and other people of color are disproportionately targeted and harmed by every step of the legal system.”

Trusty said that sentencing reform legislation is essential in Pennsylvania for the generational health and safety of Black and brown communities. She said that Sen. Street’s legislation to end death by incarceration is the kind of reform needed to overturn the legacy of over policing and over incarcerating Black and Brown communities.

“Financial investment in indigent defense throughout the Commonwealth, financial incentives for courts to accurately collect and transparently report performance metrics, and racial impact statements to accompany pieces of criminal and youth justice legislation (are needed),” Keir Bradford Grey, Chief Defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, said. “Plain and simple the reason for the continued systemic disproportionate racial outcomes is because there is no accountability on a system that costs billions of dollars a year and has a high rate of return for those who go through it.”

Grey said that making sure defendants have the best representation in court as possible is also essential in making sure that individuals are not sent to jail with lengthy sentences just because they cannot afford or access adequate representation for themselves in front of a judge.

However, Sandra Thompson, an attorney who practices in the York, PA, relayed her experiences of bias in court as a practicing attorney. She said both she and other Black attorneys have actually been held in contempt of court by white male judges over their perceived unpreparedness in court, while this was not known to be happening to white attorneys arguing cases in front of the same judge.

Thompson, as well as Assistant District Attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Homicide Unit, Deborah Watson-Stokes, both spoke to how Black women attorneys are policed on their looks in the court room. Thompson said legislation like the Crown Act would help to fight against discrimination Black women face for wearing their hair naturally, instead of chemically treating it to be straight.

Guidelines for the disclosure of court reporter notes is also an essential aspect of removing systemic biases in the court systems, Thompson said.

“Bias is difficult to prove from the record, especially when the Judge controls the court reporter and the record. The record does not show tone, volume, or facial expressions. Under secrecy, a court reporter warned me that York County prosecutors and judges have a practice of requesting court reporters to change the record,” Thompson said.

Dr. Taylor Jones, director of research and principal consultant at CulturePoint point continued, “Linguistic discrimination is a proxy for racial discrimination.”

Judge Clark followed up, “Misunderstanding Black dialect also effects accuracy and recommendations contained within probation, caseworker, and psychological evaluation reports.”

“Being able to hold this hearing today with the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and elevating the stories of longstanding systemic racism and gender biases that have been harming communities and individuals for generations is one of the most important aspects of my job, particularly during Black History Month,” Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said. “I encourage every single one of my colleagues to make racial and gender equity a priority in all of our state chambers and institutions.”

“We are proud to support the efforts of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and Chair Bullock in examining this critical issue of fairness in our courts,” Rep. Ryan Bizzarro. Chair of the House Democratic Policy Committee, said.

Below are all who testified in today’s hearing:

President Judge Idee Fox, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County
Judge Karen Simmons, Philadelphia Municipal Court
Keith Smith, retired First Judicial District staff member
Keir Bradford Grey, Chief Defender, Defender Association of Philadelphia
Deborah Watson-Stokes, Assistant District Attorney, Homicide Unit, Philadelphia District Attorney’s

Office

The full recording of this hearing can be found at senatormuth.com/policy or on the PA Senate Democratic Facebook.

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PA Senate Democrats Hold Hearing on Raising the Minimum Wage for PA in Honor of MLK Day of Service

The Pennsylvania General Assembly last raised the minimum wage in July 2007 to $7.25 per hour. The six states bordering Pennsylvania have enacted minimum wage laws exceeding the $7.25 rate effective in the Commonwealth. Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, and Ohio have enacted higher minimum wages than Pennsylvania’s, which has been stagnate at the federal minimum for more than a decade.

Alissa Barron-Menza, Vice President of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said that minimum wage was first introduced in 1938 during the Great Depression, and that a livable minimum wage is an essential economic recovery tool.

“This increase is a vital tool for shared recovery that will be good for business, good for customers and good for the economy,” Barron-Menza said.

Morris Pearl, Chairman of the Patriotic Millionaires, also said that a raise to the minimum wage is good for the economy. He said that a strong economy needs people with money to spend in order to maintain it.

“Investors are overwhelmingly in favor of raising the minimum wage,” Pearl said.

Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, including all states surrounding Pennsylvania.

“The fact that Pennsylvania’s General Assembly hasn’t raised the minimum wage since passing my legislation in 2006 is reprehensible,” Tartaglione said. “While I have continued to sponsor new minimum wage legislation every session since, the majority has failed to take action, leaving the last increase workers have seen to be a 10-cent federal increase in 2009. Pennsylvania’s minimum wage workers deserve better.”

Sen. Tartaglione is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 12. This legislation would immediately raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $12 an hour for all Pennsylvania workers, with a pathway to $15 an hour by 2027. This bill would also eliminate the tipped minimum wage for Pennsylvania, ensuring all workers are making a living wage that is not dependent on patron generosity or lack thereof.

“I was a union plumber for almost four decades, and I know how important livable, family-sustaining wages were for myself and all of our members,” Kane said. “It’s a big problem that our minimum-wage workers haven’t seen a raise in over a decade — we need to guarantee that all Pennsylvanians are paid a livable wage.”

Gene Barr is President & CEO of the PA Chamber of Business and Industry said that his organization does not believe that a raise to the Pennsylvania minimum wage is the most, “effective way to drive assistance.”

Barr said that a raise to the minimum wage will hurt small businesses, will lead to more automation, and that continued work with the state on reducing barriers to employment and expanding an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) are better solutions.

“There is majority business support for raising the minimum wage beyond currently enacted levels – despite what you may hear from the opposition,” Barron-Menza countered to Barr. “For example, a 2016 survey of 1,000 business executives across the country conducted by LuntzGlobal for the Council of State Chambers found that 80 percent of respondents said they supported raising their state’s minimum wage, while only eight percent opposed.”

“No one should be working a full-time job, or multiple full-time and part time jobs, and still be living in poverty because their employer is not required to pay them a livable wage,” Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said. “All workers deserve the dignity and respect of a livable wage, and we must raise the minimum wage for Pennsylvania.”

William Spriggs, Professor of Economics at Howard University and Chief Economist at AFL-CIO stated in his testimony that raising the minimum wage is also essential in ending the gender and racial wage gaps widely acknowledged to exist by economists.

Spriggs also said that subminimum wage is paying people less in the service industry ($2.83 in Pennsylvania for restaurant workers) or is biased on where they live, and also has, “very racist roots.”

Ashona Denise Osborne joined the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) fight for $15 an hour minimum wage after working minimum wage jobs her whole life, raising her son as a single mother, and realizing that even getting her Associates Degree in childcare is, “still not enough.”

Many other Senators also attended this hearing including Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D- Allegheny), Amanda Cappelletti (D- Delaware/Montgomery), Carolyn Committa (D- Chester), Maria Collett (D- Bucks/ Montgomery), Wayne Fontana (D- Allegheny), Vincent Hughes (D- Montgomery/Philadelphia), Tim Kearney (D- Chester/Delaware), Steve Santarsiero (D- Bucks), Nikil Saval (D- Philadelphia), Judy Schwank (D- Berks), Sharif Street (D- Philadelphia), Anthony H. Williams (D- Delaware/Philadelphia), and Lindsey Williams (D- Allegheny).

Below are all who testified in today’s hearing:

Gene Barr, President & CEO of the PA Chamber of Business and Industry
Alissa Barron-Menza, Vice President of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage
Morris Pearl, Chair of Patriotic Millionaires
Manuel Rosaldo, Centre County Wage Justice Coalition, Assistant Professor of Labor Relations, Penn State University
Jacqui Rogers, Bucks County Women’s Advocacy Coalition
William Spriggs, Professor of Economics, Howard University and Chief Economist, AFL-CIO
Kadida Kenner, Director of Campaigns at the PA Budget and Policy Center
Ashona Denise Osborne, SEIU Worker from Pittsburgh
Lateefah Curtis, Worker from Philadelphia
Adesola Ogunleye, Worker from Philadelphia

The full recording of this hearing can be found at senatormuth.com/policy.

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PA Senate Democrats Host PA Dept. of Corrections Sec. Wetzel & Others for Hearing on Impact of COVID-19 on Prisons

Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said, “It is absolutely unacceptable that we are allowing incarcerated individuals to die of COVID-19, and for correctional staff to become infected, when there are workable solutions to decrease our prison populations such as a greatly expanded compassionate release programs.”

Pennsylvania state correctional institutions have been placed into lockdown measures due to COVID-19 that include prisoners remaining in their cells 23 hours a day. Their free time is spent showering, making phone calls, or with visits with family and lawyers occurring virtually.

According to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections, there have been 442 prisoners and 244 staff infected with COVID-19, and 21 of the 23 state correctional facilities have active cases have active COVID-19 cases. There have been 17 COVID-19 inmate deaths since mid-October.

“Our population is significantly more vulnerable than the community,” Pennsylvania Sec. of the Dept. of Corrections, John Wetzel, said.

Wetzel said that while Pennsylvania is fourth in the nation for the lowest instances of COVID-19 among prisons populations, he also said that without continued reduction of the prison populations and an eventual vaccination rate of 70% among staff and inmates, COVID-19 will continue to spread in Pennsylvania prisons.

When questioned about the benefits of medical reprieve for eligible vulnerable inmates by Sen. Maria Collett (D- Bucks/Montgomery), Wetzel said the Governor Tom Wolf is not interested in continuing reprieves beyond the current 159 because reprieve gives inmates no credit for their time served.

“We need legislation to further reduce the population,” Wetzel said. “Legislation and medical parole fixes this.”

Clair Shubrick-Richards, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, said, “One preventable death is enough, and there have been 72 (in the Pennsylvania prison system).”

Secretary of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, Brandon Flood, also strongly advocated for the immediate reduction of incarcerated individuals in the state because of the large expense of incarcerating older and medically vulnerable individuals and the dangers presented by COVID-19.

“There is ample data that exists which supports the notion that older offenders are substantially less likely than younger offenders to recidivate following release,” Flood said. “The fact of the matter is that there is both a medical imperative and a fiscal imperative when it comes to the task of mitigating the spread of the COVID-19 virus within our prisons.”

While measures such as mask wearing, social distancing, deep cleaning and sanitizing, and minimizing movement of prisoners between housing units and other facilities have been taken, there are more instances of infection now then was seen in previous waves of COVID-19 infections, Wetzel said. He attributes increased infection among the incarcerated population with increased community spread in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, including new entrants to the prison system as well as staff.

“For many years, I have strongly advocated for the end of death by incarceration in Pennsylvania,” Street said. “Now, as we face COVID-19, people are not only dying while incarcerated because they have been trapped in our state prison system due to mandatory minimums and unfair sentencing practices, they are dying while incarcerated because proper measures are not being taken to ensure that COVID-19 is not spreading, infecting, and killing the incarcerated across our state.”

Kariymah McClary, a prison reform advocate, said that her husband is serving a life sentence which she refers to as death by incarceration. McClary said that the response by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections is not putting the inmate population at the center of their response to COVID-19 within prisons.

“This feels like indifference by the people in power,” McClary said.

Sharon Murchison also read a letter from her currently incarcerated husband detailing his distress at the isolation and rapidly increasing deaths around him.

“Please stop treating our loved ones like their lives are meaningless,” Celeste Trusty, Policy Director of the Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation (FAMM), said. “We need action, not just words.”

A number of additional members of the Senate Democratic Caucus also attended today’s hearing including: Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D- Allegheny), Vincent Hughes (D- Montgomery/Philadelphia), Carolyn Comitta (D- Chester), John Kane (D- Chester/Delaware), Lindsey Williams (D- Allegheny), Nikil Saval (D- Philadelphia), Steve Santarsiero (D- Bucks), Tim Kearney (D- Chester/Delaware), and Amanda Cappelletti (D- Delaware/Montgomery).

Testifiers at today’s hearing included:

Secretary John Wetzel, Department of Corrections
Clair Shubrick-Richards, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society
Celeste Trusty, Policy Director of the Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation (FAMM)
Kris Henderson, Executive Director of the Amistad Law Project
Brandon Flood, Secretary, Pennsylvania Board of Pardons
Kariymah McClary, Advocate
Sharon Murchison & Justin Griggs, Advocates
Jamar Sowell, Advocate
Dr. Alvin Wang, Chief Medical Officer for our Department of Public Safety, Montgomery Co.
Blanche Carney, Philadelphia Prison Commissioner
Dr. Valerie A. Arkoosh, Chair of Montgomery County Board of Commissioners

A full recording of the this policy hearing will be available in full at SenatorMuth.com/policy.

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Senate Democratic Policy Committee

Upcoming Policy Hearings

MARCH

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Blighted Property

Save the Date

Housing Crisis

Earth Day, Environmental

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Past Policy Hearings

A People’s Budget: The Environment

PA Senate & House Dems Host Hearing on ‘A People’s Budget: The Environment’

Racial and Gender Bias in the Courts

PA Senate & House Democrats Join PA Legislative Black Caucus for Hearing on Racial and Gender Bias in the Courts

Maternal Health and Vaccine Safety Amidst COVID-19

PA Senate Dems Joined PA House Dems & the PA Women’s Health Caucus for Hearing on Maternal Health and Vaccine Safety Amidst COVID-19

Raising the Minimum Wage for PA

PA Senate Democrats Hold Hearing on Raising the Minimum Wage for PA in Honor of MLK Day of Service

Impact of COVID-19 on Prisons

PA Senate Democrats Host PA Dept. of Corrections Sec. Wetzel & Others for Hearing on Impact of COVID-19 on Prisons

Policy FeedbackComments or Questions

PA Senate Dems Joined PA House Dems & the PA Women’s Health Caucus for Hearing on Maternal Health and Vaccine Safety Amidst COVID-19

PA Senate & House Dems Host Hearing on ‘A People’s Budget: The Environment’

PA Senate & House Democrats Join PA Legislative Black Caucus for Hearing on Racial and Gender Bias in the Courts

PA Senate Democrats Hold Hearing on Raising the Minimum Wage for PA in Honor of MLK Day of Service

PA Senate Democrats Host PA Dept. of Corrections Sec. Wetzel & Others for Hearing on Impact of COVID-19 on Prisons

Policy Feedback
Comments or Questions