Dear Neighbor, 

The House returned to Harrisburg on Monday for another busy week of session. In the Education Committee, we advanced a package of bills designed to improve the teacher certification process, including legislation that would cap the certification fees future educators must pay. On the House floor, we advanced several bills in a strong bipartisan manner, including legislation that would require health insurance providers to cover diagnostic breast imaging, establishing a First Time Homebuyers Savings Account program, and creating a Medical Debt Relief Program. We also passed the second of six bills in Governor Shapiro’s Lightning Plan.  

Lightning Plan Progress

Last week, the House passed HB 504, the Lightning Plan: Community Energy bill, which will help more Pennsylvanians reap the benefits of renewable energy by allowing people who cannot install or access solar panels or other clean energy sources on their own residences to subscribe community-based renewable energy facilities.  

On Wednesday, the House passed HB 500, a bill in Governor Shapiro’s Lightning Plan that would replace and improve the existing PA EDGE Tax Credit program.  

The EDGE tax credits that are currently on the books in Pennsylvania provide subsidies for the purchase of natural gas for use in petrochemical and fertilizer production, among other provisions. 

House Bill 500 puts fences around several concerning areas of the existing tax credit program, revises the clean hydrogen requirements, and adds eligibility for geothermal energy. The plan incentivizes investment in energy, technology, and agriculture, creating or updating tax credits for semiconductor manufacturing, sustainable aviation fuel, Pennsylvania milk processing, and reliable energy investment. 

The requirements around clean hydrogen in HB 500 match the provisions that I worked to include in my PRESS legislation, including the requirement that to be eligible for the tax credit, hydrogen production must meet the same explicit standards required to qualify for clean hydrogen tax credits under federal law. These provisions ensure that the cleanest approach to hydrogen production is incentivized by this program. As I have said in the past, there is a part for hydrogen to play in our clean-energy transition, with the potential to fuel hard-to-decarbonize sectors like steel and cement manufacturing, chemical production, long-haul transportation, and aviation. But the reality is that standing up hydrogen production on a mass scale would require significant investment from both the private and public sectors. Without the IRA funds implemented under the Biden administration but rolled back by the Trump administration, the outlook for hydrogen development moving forward in Pennsylvania does not look promising for the foreseeable future.  

While the bill passed the House with some bipartisan support on a vote of 108-95, Republican members tried unsuccessfully during floor debate to pass amendments that would have stripped out the bill’s clean energy requirements, complaining that as written, the bill would unfairly “freeze out” fossil fuels including natural gas and coal, and that only solar and nuclear power stand to benefit.     

On the whole, this legislation moves us in a positive direction. This bill would undo existing bad policy and create flexible incentives to bring new, cleaner energy sources onto the grid.  

We are on the verge of an energy crisis in our state and across the nation, and we need to keep working toward solutions that help to meet demand, mitigate rate hikes, increase grid stability, and create good-paying clean energy jobs, all while taking steps to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and protect Pennsylvanians’ clean air and clean water. In my view, revising the EDGE Tax Credit helps to achieve that and for that reason, I was a yes vote on the legislation.  

On Monday, May 19, the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee will hold a public hearing on my Lightning Plan: PRESS legislation, which would establish a new Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard to help diversify our energy sources, incentivize reliable energy and battery storage, reduce emissions, build resiliency into our grid, and lower electricity costs for ratepayers, while creating workforce opportunities and securing Pennsylvania's position as a leader in clean, reliable, and affordable energy. 

Tune in at 10 AM to watch the livestream of this public hearing.  
 

House Education Committee Meetings on Cyber Charter Schools in PA?
 

Last week, the House Education Committee continued its series of informational public hearings on cyber charter performance, accountability, and transparency, and I was able to continue my questioning around how our public tax dollars are used.  

• Accountability for Taxpayer Dollars and Student Services:
  
  When a student attends a charter or cyber charter school, the student’s assigned public school district sends the charter or cyber charter a tuition payment determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Those tuition payments can vary greatly from district to district, a point I raised in our April hearing.
  
  If a student with a special education IEP from the Downingtown Area School District attends a charter or cyber charter, DASD would pay the charter school $31,432 in special education tuition. If the very same student, with the very same special education plan, lived within the boundaries of the Coatesville Area School District and attended the very same charter or cyber charter school, CASD would be required to send the school $60,980, for the very same services.
  
  In our most recent hearing, I asked Maura McInerney of the Education Law Center what happens to those extra funds, and whether charter and cyber charter schools are subject to the same requirements and oversight as public school districts when it comes to how public taxpayer dollars are spent and allocated. (The short answer: No, they are not. Public school districts are required to spend special education funds on special education services. Under current law, charter and cyber charter schools are permitted to spend taxpayer dollars on things like luxury field trips and staff gifts.)
  
  For the full question and answer, click here: https://youtu.be/944PLHMdsr8

• Ensuring that public school districts are meeting the needs of students and families 
  
  I think it’s important to understand what’s driving some students and families to cyber charter schools in the first place, particularly when the move to a cyber charter may be moving students further away from the special education supports they need.
  
  I asked the PA School Board Association and officials from the Stroudsburg School District what the legislature can do to help foster a better relationship between parents and school districts and ensure that the needs of students with IEPs are being met. 
  
  Watch here: https://youtu.be/HbOLiZ9zefQ

The House Education Committee is expected to run a package of cyber charter reform bills in the coming weeks, and I look forward to continuing the conversation and working with my colleagues to advance legislation that protects the interests of our students and taxpayers. ? 
 

SEPTA Senior Key Card Event in Downingtown Borough 

On Thursday, Team Otten and Team Comitta joined forces for a SEPTA Senior Key Card Event in Downingtown Borough. SEPTA Senior Key Cards are a lifeline for many seniors and are one of the most popular services our district offices provide. I’m glad we were able to help so many members of our community sign-up for and renew their SEPTA passes. 

If you were unable to join us on Thursday, you can always stop by one of our District Offices where we can process applications and renewals during our normal business hours. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Legislative Town Hall

With budget season ramping up in Harrisburg, it is a priority of mine to ensure the needs of our district are recognized in this year’s budget, and I want to hear what issues matter most to you at my next Town Hall.? 

An active and engaged constituency is essential to a government that works for all people, and your input and involvement help to ensure that the interests of central Chester County are well represented. My upcoming town hall is an excellent opportunity to get updates on state legislative issues and ask questions about issues that matter to you. I hope to see you there!? 

Attendees are encouraged to submit their questions in advance to ensure we have enough time to address everyone. Please submit your questions/comments/concerns to repotten@pahouse.net with the subject line “TOWN HALL TOPIC” by Friday, May 23.? 

When:               Thursday, May 29? 
                           7:00 PM – 8:30 PM? 

Where:              Witmer Conference Center at the East Brandywine Fire Company,  
                           2096?Bondsville Road, Downingtown, PA 19335? 

SEPTA Senior Key Cards and Card Renewals

If you have a SEPTA Senior Key Card that has expired or will expire within the next month, we can renew it in our district office. To renew your card before it expires, please stop by my district office, or call us to make an appointment.  

My office can also process applications and take photos for new SEPTA Senior Key ID Cards, which allow seniors 65 and older to travel for free on all SEPTA Regional Rail and transit routes within Pennsylvania. Just stop by my district office and bring a form of ID with your date of birth on it, such as a PA driver’s license or non-driver ID, U.S. passport, or birth certificate. We’ll enter your information into SEPTA’s online system, take a quick photo, and then SEPTA will mail your new card to you directly.  

2-1-1 Southeastern Pennsylvania: Health and Human Services 

211 SEPA is part of the national 211 Call Centers initiative that seeks to provide health and human services for everyday needs and those in crisis situations. 

2-1-1 works with county governments and provider agencies to ensure important local program information is easily accessible. 

Visit 211sepa.org for more information. 

Mental Health Resources: Call 9-8-8 

Chester County residents experiencing mental-health-related crisis or distress can dial 9-8-8 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.?This system is designed to be a memorable and quick number that connects people in crisis to a trained mental health professional.

Chester County offers additional resources for those in crisis, including Chester County’s warm line, 1-866-846-2722, operated by Certified Peer Specialists, who are individuals in recovery with a lived experience of mental health challenges.

Chester County’s Teen Talk Line ensures seamless referral to Mobile Crisis for youth in need of immediate or higher-level support. The call line is 855-852-TEEN (8336), and the text line is 484-362-9515.

Visit the?Department of Human Services website for more information about the 988 system and other state and local mental health resources.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, please don’t give up hope, and please know that you do not need to walk this path alone. We are here and we will do whatever we can to help. 

Our District Office will be closed on Tuesday, May 20 for Primary Election Day. We will reopen on Wednesday, May 21 to assist you with any state-related issue.

My staff and I are here to help make state government work better for you! For assistance with the above programs or any other state-related services, please email repotten@pahouse.net, call 484-200-8259, or visit my district office in Exton.

Please don’t hesitate to call, email, or contact us through my website and let us know how we can help!

Sincerely, 

Danielle Friel Otten 
State Representative, 
155th Legislative District 

Pennsylvania State Capitol

34 East Wing
Harrisburg, PA 17120

(717) 783-5009

District Office

631 Pottstown Pike
Exton, PA 19341
(484) 200-8259