“I am very pleased and humbled to receive this award working on the important issue of light pollution with my bill, House Bill 969,” Pielli said. “The detrimental effects of light pollution extend beyond an artificial skyglow to adverse effects on the health of both humans and other living organisms. “These adverse effects include a disruption of our natural circadian rhythm, as well as an increase in the risk of developing breast and prostate cancer. Artificial light has also been known to interfere with a variety of wildlife behaviors, such as confusing young sea turtles into walking toward shorelines instead of the ocean upon hatching and disorienting birds during migration, resulting in detours, energy drain and collisions with illuminated structures.” Read more
“The eyes of history are upon us as to whether we will continue to defend our sacred rights and liberties,” Pielli said. “As state lawmakers, we have a duty to protect the residents of the Commonwealth from illegal and violent overreach by any government officials now, just as we did over two centuries ago. I look forward to my colleagues’ support of this legislation to make all Pennsylvanians feel secure in their rights against unreasonable, unlawful, and unconscionable imprisonment and seizure of property.” Read more
NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS Fish and Boat Commission: Boating Facility Grant Program Who May Apply: Municipalities and non-profit organizations, including land trusts, conservancies, and watershed associations. Use: Planning, acquisition, development, expansion, and rehabilitation of public boating facilities Funds: Funds available may be adjusted by the commission and priority is given to projects with more than the required 50% match. Application Deadline: December 1, 2025 More information: PFBC Website PROGRAMS OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS: Department of Community and Economic Development: PA SITES Who May Apply: Municipalities, economic development organizations, redevelopment authorities, municipal authorities, industrial development agencies, and for-profit organizations. Use: To develop competitive sites for businesses to relocate or expand within Pennsylvania. Funds: $400 million in funding is available. Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and approved on a quarterly basis More information: DCED Website Department of Community and Economic Development: Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant Who May Apply: Technical and trade schools, school districts, post-secondary academic institutions, workforce investment boards, economic development organizations, and non-profit organizations. For-profit entities are not eligible. Read more
State Rep. Chris Pielli, D-Chester, announced today that his legislation to protect pollinators and other insects native to Pennsylvania, H.B. 441, has passed the state House of Representatives. Read more
NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS Department of Agriculture: Farm-to-School Grant Program Who May Apply: A school district, school, charter school, private school or center with prekindergarten classes, kindergarten classes, elementary classes or middle school classes through the eighth grade that participates in a Federal child nutrition program Use: To educate prekindergartners through eighth graders and their families about the importance of choosing healthy, locally produced foods and to increase awareness of agriculture in this Commonwealth Funds: Up to $500,000 is expected to be available for the program Application Deadline: November 14, 2025 More information: PDA Website PROGRAMS OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS: Department of Community and Economic Development: PA SITES Who May Apply: Municipalities, economic development organizations, redevelopment authorities, municipal authorities, industrial development agencies, and for-profit organizations. Use: To develop competitive sites for businesses to relocate or expand within Pennsylvania. Funds: $400 million in funding is available. Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and approved on a quarterly basis More information: DCED Website Department of Community and Economic Development: Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant Who May Apply: Technical and trade schools, school Read more
Hi Folks,We hope this September edition of District Deliberations finds you all doing well. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." Perhaps in those words we can find hope that upon our return to Harrisburg this week we will find common ground for a commonsense budget that contains fair funding for every Pennsylvanian. As we enter the Fall season with no budget and no sustainable funding for our public transportation, schools, non-profits, and more, we must truthfully ask ourselves how we got here and how we can move forward to a better place politically. Read more
NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS Department of Agriculture: Urban Agricultural Infrastructure Grant Who May Apply: A person may apply to the Department for a grant for an eligible project in an urban municipality. Use: To improve urban agricultural infrastructure in an urban area, improve or facilitate the aggregation of agricultural products in an urban area, entail the sharing of resources among urban agricultural entities or community organizations, and/or support community development in the project area. Funds: $500,000 is expected to be available contingent on the 2025-26 budget. Application Deadline: October 31, 2025 More information: Pennsylvania Bulletin PROGRAMS OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS: Department of Community and Economic Development: PA SITES Who May Apply: Municipalities, economic development organizations, redevelopment authorities, municipal authorities, industrial development agencies, and for-profit organizations. Use: To develop competitive sites for businesses to relocate or expand within Pennsylvania. Funds: $400 million in funding is available. Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and approved on a quarterly basis More information: DCED Website Department of Community and Economic Development: Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant Who May Apply: Technical and trade schools, school districts, post-secondary Read more
NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS Office of the State Fire Commissioner: Fire Company and Emergency Medical Services Grant Who May Apply: All fire companies, emergency medical services, and volunteer rescue squads Use: Facility improvements, equipment purchases, debt reduction, training, education, and recruitment and retention Funds: Grants will be not less than $2,500 and not more than $20,000 per applicant fire company and no more than $15,000 per applicant emergency medical service. Application Deadline: October 20, 2025 More information: OSFC Website Commission on Crime and Delinquency: Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Who May Apply: Counties, county jails/county work release centers, Single County Authorities, and/or County Behavioral Health Administrators. Use: To support counties seeking to increase opportunities to provide Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in combination with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to individuals in county jails and work release centers and upon release to the community. Funds: A total of $1,130,905 in federal Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) funds is being announced to support this initiative. RSAT funds require a 25 percent cash or in-kind match. The applicant’s source for the cash match must be state or local funds. Federal funds may not be used to meet the match requirement. PCCD expects to fund approximately five grants with budgets not to Read more
NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS Office of the Budget: Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) Who May Apply: Applicants must have been previously itemized in a Capital Budget Project Itemization Act. Use: Applicants can use funds for the purposes prescribed in the Capital Budget Project Itemization Act. Funds: Varied. Application Deadline: September 23, 2025 More information: OB website Department of Community and Economic Development: Local Share Account Statewide Who May Apply: Counties, municipalities, municipal authorities, economic development agencies, redevelopment authorities, land banks, or councils of government. Non-profits may partner with an eligible applicant to apply on their behalf. Use: Projects in the public interest. Projects that improve the quality of life of citizens in the community. Eligible projects must be owned and maintained by an eligible applicant or a nonprofit organization. Funds: The PA Race Horse Development and Gaming Act provides for the distribution of gaming revenues through the Commonwealth Financing Authority to support projects in the public interest. Grant requests must be at a minimum $25,000 and no more than $1,000,000. Application Deadline: November 30, 2025 More information: DCED Website Department of Agriculture: Agriculture and Youth Organization Grant Program Who May Apply: Agriculture and youth organizations, Read more
“The Southeast region of PA generates over 40% of all General Tax Revenue in the entire state and yet we only get back 19% in government services,” Pielli said. “That’s nearly $16 billion dollars. Chester County and our public transportation have a lot to do with that. We are the economic engine that runs PA. So, when Republicans state that we are asking for too much, I say we are asking for our money and not to fund them like a welfare region that they are. This is taxation without transportation. This is taxation without fair economic representation, and I’m tired of red county Republicans sponging off the bounty of our labor and blocking fair funding for our schools, our seniors, our streets and bridges and, yes, our SEPTA.” Read more
We hope this August edition of District Deliberations finds you all doing well. The heavy metal rocker Henry Rollins once said, “August brings into sharp focus and a furious boil everything I’ve been listening to in the late spring and summer.” The comparison is striking when thinking of all we have heard from Harrisburg these last few months only to find ourselves at the end of a long, hot summer with no budget and no funding for our Public Transportation. Read more
NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS Department of Education: Keystone Grant for Public Library Facilities Who May Apply: Grant applications are required to be submitted by a municipality on behalf of the project library. Use: Planning, acquisition, development, construction, or rehabilitation of a public library. Funds: Funding is available through the Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund. This grant program is a dollar-for-dollar match, and the maximum grant award is $750,000. There is no minimum grant award. Application Deadline: October 10, 2025 More information: PDE Website Department of Environmental Protection: Coastal Zone Grant Program Who May Apply: An authority, incorporated non-profit organization, a political subdivision, or an educational institution with a project within the Delaware estuary coastal Zone or the Lake Erie Coastal Zone. Use: To protect and enhance coastal resources in this Commonwealth. Funds: Application Deadline: October 14, 2025 More information: DEP Website Department of Environmental Protection: Driving PA Forward Initiative: Pennsylvania Freight Innovations in Transportation (PA-FIT) Grant Program Who May Apply: Businesses, non-profits, state, local or tribal government agencies, air quality or transportation organizations, metropolitan or rural/regional planning organizations, or federal government agencies. Use: To Read more
“Time’s up! The GOP-controlled state Senate has fled Harrisburg,” Pielli said. “My colleagues and I in the state House did our jobs: We passed House Bill 1364, a bill that not only meets SEPTA’s funding needs, not only pledges more than $292 million to public transportation across our commonwealth, but also puts forth approximately $500 million for road and bridge repair in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. All without raising a single penny in taxes. The Southeast Region of PA delivers 40% of all revenue in the entire state, yet we only get 19% back in government services. This is taxation without transportation, and we are sick and tired of Republicans playing fast and loose with our money.” Read more
NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County: Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund Who May Apply: Municipalities, authorities, councils of government, non-profits and for-profit businesses in Allegheny County. Use: Economic development projects, infrastructure development projects, job training, community improvement projects, public safety projects, and public interest projects. Funds: Project budgets must be between $150,000 and $500,000. Application Deadline: August 22, 2025 More information: RAAC Website Department of Transportation: Rail Freight Transportation Grant Who May Apply: Redevelopment authorities, rail companies, and for profit businesses Use: Investments in rail structure to keep and/or boost economic development. Funds: $41 million in funding is available. Application Deadline: August 29, 2025 More information: PennDOT Website Commission on Crime and Delinquency: Endowment Act – Treatment Training Who May Apply: For-profit entity, non-profit entity, an entity affiliated with a CAC or MDIT (e.g., public agency or hospital), unit of local government, or schools including colleges and universities. Use: This funding is specifically for the training of persons who treat adult and/or child victims/survivors of child sexual abuse. Funds: A total of $250,000 in state Endowment Act funds is being announced to Read more
Hi Folks, We hope this July edition of District Deliberations finds you all doing well. This July has brought the usual Fourth of July celebrations, hot and humid weather, the occasional torrential rains, but unfortunately, no state budget. I wish I could tell you that we have secured money for our crucial Public Transportation or that we finally legislated new funding streams to address any structural deficits. I wish that I could assure our hard-working Pennsylvanians that we have a responsible budget for our Seniors, for our Streets, for our Schools. But alas, no. Read more
Hi, folks:Let's be clear. The Trump Administration is shortchanging Pennsylvania children's education and future.The U.S. Department of Education is withholding nearly $231 million dollars of pre-approved Congressional funding - all to finance billionaire tax breaks. Read more
Hi Folks,We hope this June edition of District Deliberations finds you all doing well. June - “the Gateway to Summer” - has come once again, making for a hot, hazy, humid Harrisburg Budget season. While much of the budget negotiations remains up in the air, one thing for certain is my commitment to important budget priorities to include properly funding our Public Transportation. Read more
Thursday night, the SEPTA board had to approve a budget that includes the catastrophic service cuts that all of us here in the Philadelphia region are dreading. Read more
“I am beyond proud that these two bills have made it to the finish line,” he said. “So many of my colleagues in the House and Senate provided crucial feedback to ensure bi-partisan support for these bills. I wish to thank everyone who was a part of the legislative process and of course, I wish to thank Governor Shapiro for his approval and signature.” Read more
NEWLY LISTED PROGRAMS Commission on Crime and Delinquency: State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) Firearm Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention Initiative Who May Apply: Units of local government, nonprofit organizations (including community-based and statewide organizations), institutions of higher education, and state government agencies. Use: To support programming that focuses on firearm-related suicide prevention. Funds: A total of $1 million in federal 2024 Byrne SCIP funds in available. PCCD expects to fund 4 to 6 grants over a 21-month period. Application Deadline: September 9, 2025 More information: PCCD Website PROGRAMS OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS: Department of Community and Economic Development: PA SITES Who May Apply: Municipalities, economic development organizations, redevelopment authorities, municipal authorities, industrial development agencies, and for-profit organizations. Use: To develop competitive sites for businesses to relocate or expand within Pennsylvania. Funds: $400 million in funding is available. Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and approved on a quarterly basis More information: DCED Website Department of Community and Economic Development: Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant Who May Apply: Technical and trade schools, school districts, post-secondary academic Read more
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