Dear Neighbor,
The House returned to Harrisburg this week with a full agenda, and legislators worked across party lines to move important bills forward. After weeks of committee work and negotiation, bills are now advancing to the Governor’s desk, resolutions are clearing hurdles, and several bipartisan measures advanced, underscoring that cooperation across the aisle remains possible on issues that matter.
One of the bills now headed to the Governor’s desk is SB 88 - Updating Breast Cancer Screening Coverage, which builds on Pennsylvania’s landmark Act 1 of 2023 by expanding coverage for breast cancer screenings. This legislation ensures that patients at average or higher risk can access supplemental screenings and diagnostic exams such as MRIs and ultrasounds without out-of-pocket costs. Advancing with strong bipartisan support, SB 88 aligns state law with new federal guidance and best practices nationwide, strengthening early detection and helping save lives. I co-sponsored the House version of this bill and was happy to vote in support of the Senate measure.
Another measure advancing with broad bipartisan support is HB 439, known as the Pennsylvania CROWN Act – Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. This bill prohibits discrimination based on hair type, texture, or style, protecting Pennsylvanians from being discriminated against or denied opportunities simply because of natural hairstyles such as locs, braids, twists, or Afros. The CROWN Act is a civil rights measure that affirms dignity, equality, and respect for all, and its bipartisan passage reflects a shared commitment to fairness.
I am also proud to share that my resolution Designating November as “Children’s Grief Awareness Month” advanced out of committee with unanimous bipartisan support. No child should have to grieve alone, yet losing a parent, caregiver, sibling, or loved one is a devastatingly common trauma that can affect a child’s wellbeing. This resolution recognizes the profound impact of childhood grief and the critical role of counselors, educators, and community members in supporting children through loss. It was inspired by a meeting my team and I had with A Haven, a local organization in Exton that provides grief counseling for children and families throughout Chester County. Their work underscores the importance of raising awareness and ensuring that no child grieves alone.
Chester County Election Update
On Monday, the Chester County Board of Elections (comprised of the three County Commissioners) held a nearly six-hour public hearing to review approximately 1,400 provisional ballots being challenged by the county Republican party. Independent and third-party voters joined county poll workers and Democratic solicitors in calling for every vote cast in the November 4 election to be counted.
Even after Commissioner Josh Maxwell acknowledged that a government error led to the omission of independent and third-party voters from the poll books on Election Day, and that the issue was in no way the fault of any voter, the Republican solicitor argued that provisional ballots should be tossed out on technicalities such as missing poll worker signatures or missing inner privacy envelopes.
Voting should not be a trick question. If you are a qualified elector and you show up (or send a timely mail ballot) with the intent to vote, you should get to vote. Period, the end. We should not be looking for ways to exclude, disenfranchise, or discount eligible voters. Yet the historical practice of the Republican party has been to make it harder for eligible voters to vote and to challenge ballots on technicalities, such as unsealed inner envelopes or missing dates on mail ballots received on time. While the Republicans ultimately dropped most of their challenges and nearly all provisional ballots were counted, this situation shines a light on the vulnerabilities in our voting process.
Every hoop we require a qualified elector to jump through creates a vulnerability in the system, making it more difficult for people to cast a vote and more likely that their vote will be challenged. We need systems in place to secure our elections so that we don’t create opportunities for these vulnerabilities. And we should be finding ways to make it easier, not harder, for voters to vote.
The House has considered multiple legislative proposals that would improve ease of and access to voting while preserving the security and integrity of our elections. The integrity of our elections depends upon every registered voter having confidence that they will be able to cast their ballot and have it counted accurately.
On November 4, I joined my colleagues in the Chester County State House Delegation in?calling for an investigation?into the cause of the omission of third-party and newly registered voters from poll books in Chester County and an assurance that every ballot would be properly counted. Last week, the County Board of Elections?released a timeline for its investigation, and on Monday night, the county announced that an?independent firm had been selected?to lead the investigation. Please watch?the FAQ page on the County website?for more information.
PA Power Switch
In recent conversations with neighbors, many mentioned an increase in their electric bills and asked if there was anything they could do about it. I encouraged them to check out PA Power Switch, Pennsylvania’s official electricity shopping website managed by the Public Utility Commission. In our state, you can choose the company that supplies your electricity, which means you can switch to a competing provider who may offer a lower price or services that better fit your preferences, such as green or renewable energy.
Through PA Power Switch, you can compare rates and plans and even shop for renewable providers if you wish. While suppliers may approach you directly by phone, mail, or door to door, it is important to verify that any offer is legitimate and that you fully understand the terms before agreeing. The site also provides tips to protect yourself from misleading marketing tactics and scams, along with a helpful explainer about understanding your electric utility bill so you can better see which costs are within your control.
Electricity prices fluctuate, so it is good financial practice to check back periodically to make sure you are signed up for the program and rate that best suits your household’s needs and budget. Taking a few minutes to review your options can save money and ensure your energy plan reflects both your values and your price range.
How I’m Working to Address Rising Energy Costs
Beyond helping families make smart choices through programs like PA Power Switch, I am also working on legislation to protect consumers from rising energy costs. As demand on our electric grid grows, especially from large-scale data center development, it is critical that residential ratepayers are not left to shoulder the burden.
To address these challenges, I am the prime sponsor on several bills that strengthen consumer protections and ensure fairness in how costs are distributed. Two key proposals include:
- Requiring Consideration of the Public Interest in PUC Proceedings: The Public Utility Commission makes decisions that directly affect families, businesses, and communities, but Pennsylvania law does not define what the “public interest” means or require the PUC to show how its rulings serve it. My legislation closes that gap by establishing a clear definition and requiring the PUC to demonstrate in every order how its decisions align with the public interest. This framework ensures that decisions weigh not only rates and reliability but also affordability, fairness, sustainability, and community impact, strengthening accountability and protecting households and small businesses.
- Protecting Residential Ratepayers from Data Center Cost Shifting: Data centers are driving extraordinary demand on the electric grid, adding billions in costs and requiring major infrastructure upgrades that can run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Without safeguards, those costs are spread across all customers, leaving families and small businesses to subsidize the largest energy users. My legislation establishes a separate rate class for large-load data centers, requires them to cover the full cost of infrastructure upgrades and system impacts, mandates transparent reporting to the PUC, and ensures that households are not burdened with stranded costs if a facility reduces load or ceases operations. By following the principle of cost causation, this bill ensures fairness in electric rates and protects Pennsylvania ratepayers from costs they did not create.
Together, these proposals reflect a simple principle: Pennsylvania families and small businesses should not be left to carry the costs created by the largest corporate energy users. By defining the public interest and ensuring that data centers pay their fair share, we can protect ratepayers, strengthen accountability, and keep our energy system both affordable and sustainable for the long term.