HARRISBURG, June 4 – Pennsylvania consumers are one step closer to protection from an unfair and unscrupulous sales practice after a strong bipartisan majority of the PA House today passed state Rep. Rob Matzie’s bill to ban speculative ticketing. Matzie, who is chairman of the House Majority Caucus, said he introduced H.B. 463 to eliminate a practice in which ticket resellers list event tickets for sale before even having those tickets in hand. “People give up their hard-earned money to buy tickets so they can enjoy special shows and events with friends, family, and loved ones,” said Matzie. “They have a right to assume the seller has those tickets in hand. When it turns out that the seller never had them and was unable to get them, it’s the consumer who loses. At best, they may get their money back. At worst, they lose their ticket money and any other expenses, like travel and lodging, they laid out. “A sales transaction between a buyer and seller should never be based on a gamble that the seller will be able to obtain the item for sale. We don’t allow that to happen with other consumer goods, and we shouldn’t let it happen with ticket sales. It’s very simple – if you don’t have it, you can’t sell it. I’m pleased that a strong bipartisan majority of the House sided with Pennsylvania consumers today by passing my bill.” Read more

Newly listed state grant opportunities Read more

AMBRIDGE, May 22 – Nearly $80,000 in new grant funding from the state Department of Environment Protection will support environmental education for Beaver County students and composting and PFAS workshops to benefit area residents, state Rep. Rob Matzie announced today. Matzie said the funding includes $19,180 to Beaver County’s RiverWise for the Summer Sustainability Institute education program; $28,424 to Pennsylvania Resources Council Inc., for the Small Scale Composting for Urban Communities project; and $30,000 to Pennsylvania State University for workshops to teach participants from Beaver and several other counties about PFAS. “When we educate students about the environment, we’re teaching them lessons about community engagement, empowering them to fight food insecurity, and encouraging them to care for and conserve natural resources. We’re also introducing them to potential career paths,” said Matzie, who is chairman of the House Majority Caucus. “With this new funding, the Summer Sustainability Institute will teach those lessons to Beaver County middle school and high school students by providing hands-on learning about urban farming, sustainability, climate change and much more. They’re lessons that will be useful for life.” Matzie said the funding to Pennsylvania Resources Council Inc. will support composting workshops in Beaver, Allegheny, Delaware and Fayette counties Read more

“Our region suffered a major hit during this unprecedented storm,” said Steele, who hosted the hearing and represents portions of Allegheny County. “The sustained power outages were more than an inconvenience. We had older residents in life-and-death situations, unable to use life-sustaining medical devices in their homes, and we experienced major roadway closures.” Read more

PITTSBURGH, May 19 – State Rep. Arvind Venkat will host a community town hall meeting from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 29 at La Roche University’s Zappala Campus Center, located at 9000 Babcock Blvd. in McCandless Township. Venkat said the event will be a chance for residents to come together as a community and share what is on their minds. “In my door-knocking, I hear from so many engaged residents who tell me about their hopes and priorities for our community,” Venkat said. “With dangerous policies being proposed at the federal level that will have a direct impact upon our community and state, I also hear a lot of questions and concerns. Now, more than ever, it’s important for people to have a chance to speak out and for elected officials to listen. “My upcoming town hall will be an opportunity for us to gather as a community, for residents to discuss the issues on their minds, and for me to hear more about what messages need to resonate in Harrisburg. I urge everyone to attend.” Residents who plan to attend can RSVP at this page: https://pahouse.com/venkat/RSVP/?id=1736 . EDITORS NOTE : Media is welcome and may indicate their plan to attend by contacting Venkat’s office at 412-348-8028 or emailing RepVenkat@pahouse.net . Read more

HARRISBURG, May 14 – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today unanimously passed legislation that would allow family of members of the Pennsylvania National Guard to claim additional education benefits each time the Guard member reenlists or renews their service commitment, the bill’s co-prime sponsors, state Reps. Arvind Venkat and Craig Williams, announced. House Bill 865 would amend the state’s Military Family Education Program – also known as the Pennsylvania GI Bill – to clarify that the program’s education benefit is renewable each time a Guard member reenlists or renews their service obligation for an additional six-year term. “Our military men and women sacrifice so much when they commit to serve, and their families also sacrifice each time they say goodbye to a loved one leaving for duty,” said Venkat, D-Allegheny. “The Military Family Education Program is an excellent way of giving back to these families while also boosting Guard recruitment and retention. “As written, the existing law leaves some uncertainty regarding whether the education benefit is renewable. By making clear that the benefit is available each time a Guard member reenlists or renews their service commitment, our bill would give greater effect to this powerful program.” “House Bill 865 honors the full scope of service that Guard members and their families provide,” said Williams, Read more

EDGE 2.0 tax credit expansion leveraging Shapiro’s Lightning Plan advances Read more

HARRISBURG, May 13 – In a move to help fight medical debt, the Pennsylvania House today passed bipartisan legislation that would ensure patients are better informed about hospital-based financial assistance programs and how to access them, announced the bill’s co-prime sponsor, state Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-Allegheny. House Bill 79 , which Venkat introduced with state Reps. Nate Davidson, Tarik Khan, Bridget M. Kosierowski, Andrew Kuzma, Jim Rigby and Tim Twardzik, would mandate the development of standardized, plain-language hospital financial aid forms, which would be shared with patients on intake and discharge, displayed on billing paperwork and posted publicly on hospital and state health websites. “Hospital-based financial aid can help patients avoid life-altering medical debt, yet many patients are unaware that these programs even exist or how to access them,” said Venkat, an emergency physician and legislator who sits on the House Health Committee. “Our legislation would make sure patients receive this information in a standardized, easily understandable format so they can reap the benefits of these programs. Our bill would also require hospitals to suspend billing pending a decision on the patient’s application. Making the system more accessible and user-friendly for patients will help prevent all Pennsylvanians from accumulating medical debt.” “As a nurse practitioner, I’ve seen how Read more

“Blight hurts every type of community in Pennsylvania, from rural areas to Main Street business districts,” Markosek said. “It weakens property values, drives away investment, and disrupts neighborhoods. But when communities address blight head-on, they can stabilize neighborhoods, renew interest from property owners and developers and attract small businesses and new housing.” Read more

HARRISBURG, May 12 – With the growing demand for GLP-1 medications to treat obesity, state Reps. Arvind Venkat and Bryan Cutler are preparing to introduce legislation that would ensure those drugs remain available to Medical Assistance patients while significantly cutting costs to the state. The bill would allow Pennsylvania to purchase GLP-1 medications for Medicaid patients at a lower cost by implementing a “subscription model” – a system in which a state agrees to pay a certain amount per treatment up to a cap, at which point the drug manufacturer provides additional treatments at no cost. “GLP-1 drugs that treat obesity can also help patients avoid serious and costly diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and potentially others,” said Venkat, a physician and legislator who is a member of the House Health and Human Services committees. “For the state, healthier outcomes for Medicaid patients translate to significant cost savings. “The challenge is that these medications are costly to the state now, while the savings from lower disease rates won’t be realized until future years. By implementing a subscription model, our bill would help the state significantly reduce upfront costs without limiting the number of patients who can receive needed treatment for obesity.” The subscription model – colloquially also known as the “Netflix model” Read more