Happy sunny Friday to my neighbors of the 168th!
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First, I hope everyone came through last night’s storm with little to no damage. I want to give a huge shout-out to all our first responders and township staff who have been crisscrossing their respective townships to support our neighbors and deal with the impacts of downed trees and power outages.
I know there is a lot of clean up happening and PECO is still working to bring many people back online. If there is anything my office can do to help, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
I just want to also thank everyone who reached out in the wake of what appears to be the politically motivated assassinations in Minnesota. My heart goes out to the loved ones of Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and I continue to pray for Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, as they recover.
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There can be no place for political violence, and I believe it is a responsibility of all of us to help lower the temperature on the divisive and incendiary language.
I am committed to making sure we have productive dialog, agree to disagree when necessary, and stay focused on our main job – serving the best interests of all in our communities.
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I hope everyone has a great weekend... stay cool, and let’s sweep the Mets!
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P.S. — Did you know the Delaware County Office of Services for the Aging partners with PECO to get free fans into the homes of eligible neighbors over age 60 who reside in Delaware County? All the Delco-supported senior centers have the fans; a list of the centers can be found here. There should be one close to you. Just call first before heading over.
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Harrisburg Update
- Health System Protection Act passes the House!
- More of my legislation on the move
- Everyone looks forward to Zoo Day!
- Visitors in the Capitol
- Supporting job growth for chiropractors
- Momnibus Day!
SPOTLIGHT 168: "What Gun Violence Means to Me," by Sami Leach
In the District
- Petitioning to save SEPTA
- Bringing awareness to elder abuse
- Flag Day at DCVMA
- Expert input on EMS legislation
- Delco Legislative Breakfast
My Events
- Period product donation drive for Mitzvah Circle (now thru July 18)
- License Plate Replacement events (June 25)
FYI
- Applications are open for the PA House Legislative Fellowship Program
Community Events
- Rose Tree Summer Festival Concerts (dates now thru Aug. 10)
- Free Yoga in the Park w/ Newtown Township Parks & Rec (June 25 - July 16)
- DCHD healthcare system help days for seniors (dates now through August)
- Delco Health & Job Fair (June 27)
- Chesco Pops 20th Anniversary Concert (July 20)
- Edgmont Twp 2026 Annual Calendar contest (now through Aug. 31)
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Health System Protection Act passes the House!
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My legislation to prevent another Crozer crisis, the Health System Protection Act, has passed the PA House!
This puts us a big step closer to stopping private equity firms out for personal profit from destroying our hospitals and leaving patients with nowhere to go. The pressure is now on the PA Senate to get this bill across the finish line!
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Celebrating with Rep. Dan Frankel, chair of the Health Committee, after the successful vote.
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Crafting this legislation has been an immense task balancing stakeholder input with what is best for our communities and patients. I could not have done this without staff from the Health Committee, the Governor’s Office, Sen. Kearney’s office, and our tireless nurse advocates at PASNAP.
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More of my legislation on the move
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A few other bills I’ve been working on are making their way through the legislative process!
HB129, Updating Negative Options: Would make subscriptions easier to cancel. Approved by the House Communications and Technology Committee on a unanimous vote, making it eligible for consideration by the full House.
HB1442, Morgan Rose’s Law: Would allow coroners to list Sudden Unexpected Death due to Epilepsy (SUDEP) as an official cause of death after an autopsy. Approved unanimously by the House Health Committee. A special thank you to Rep. Ann Flood for co-sponsoring this legislation with me and sharing her story about losing her daughter to SUDEP.
HB209, Second Class Township Ordinance Effective Date: This bill is now with the Senate after passing the House; the Senate Local Government Committee just approved it unanimously, making it eligible for consideration by the full Senate. It would allow second-class townships to adopt ordinances with an immediate effective date, a simple change to allow for more flexibility for townships and uniformity across our different municipalities. Hopefully we will see it on the governor’s desk soon!
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Everyone looks forward to Zoo Day!
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Zoos from across the Commonwealth brought furry and four-legged visitors to the Capitol to advocate for state support in what is known as “Zoo Day” – this year I met a sloth, a baby crocodile, and even a penguin named Disco!
Outside, organizations showcased our animal friends with jobs to celebrate Working Animal Appreciation Day, including police horses and canines, therapy dogs and cats, and other service animals.
This was a great way to remember the importance of protecting Pennsylvania’s natural resources and wildlife!
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Zoo Day is fun, but I always say my favorite days in Harrisburg are when visitors from the district come to the Capitol!
Last week Marie and our summer intern, Sami, joined me for a jam-packed day of committee meetings and press conferences. We ran into Newtown Township Supervisors Leonard Altieri and Paul Sanfrancesco, who were visiting the Senate as HB209 was voted out of the Senate Local Government Committee.
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This week I had the honor of bringing Marple Newtown School District Superintendent Dr. Tina Kane and her family up to the Capitol for recognition in the House chamber after being named the 2025 PASA Superintendent of the Year! As a former school board member, I have seen how hard the job of superintendent can be and I admire Dr. Kane’s leadership and dedication to the students of MNSD.
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I absolutely love seeing young adults getting engaged with the legislative process, and that is what the Keystone Boys State Program is all about. I was thrilled to meet with some of this year's participants, including the 168th's own Reid McMullin (yikes...I remember when he was born...thank goodness only he is getting older ??).
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KBS is a week-long leadership development program that uses a state government simulation as the vehicle for instilling the principles of civic engagement, democracy, and patriotism in the students who attend.
They asked me what advice I would give our next generation of leaders and that was easy...don't believe everything you read on social media, do your own research, seek to understand fact from fiction, and use that information to form your own opinion.
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I am always so impressed with our young adults and their desire to get involved.
And finally, I also kept it in the family with a visit from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Liz and Craig, and nephews Andrew and Henry!
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Supporting job growth for chiropractors
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Chiropractors were en masse in Harrisburg to rally for legislation I introduced (HB1106) that would restore a chiropractor's ability to delegate to assistants, aiming to help these practitioners grow their field by creating more opportunities in the workforce. It was really great to see the 168th’s own Dr. Marc Belitsky!
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Since 2018, Pennsylvania's chiropractors have been severely limited as the only chiropractors in the country without the ability to delegate therapeutic exercise to chiropractic assistants, resulting in increased costs to patients and a shrunken workforce.
My legislation is currently under consideration by the House Professional Licensure Committee.
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Are you on the bus? The Momnibus?
This week I was proud to join my colleagues in the PA Black Maternal Health Caucus to celebrate the new Momnibus 2.0!
Black women in PA face a disproportionately high risk of pregnancy-related complications compared to their white counterparts, and 93.5% of those deaths are preventable.
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Lack of access to prenatal care and support is a major contributing factor, with dozens of the state's counties lacking enough practicing OBGYNs.
The PA MOMNIBUS 2.0 provides a comprehensive solution to address these gaps and improve maternal health outcomes. From advancing investments in maternal morbidity research to improving accessibility to doulas and midwives, we are working to foster better health outcomes for our moms and babies!
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What Gun Safety Means to Me
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by Sami Leach, Summer Intern on Team 168
Gun safety is an important issue I have been passionate about since I started high school. I started to recognize the problem when I was looking at news articles on school shootings and realized these tragic occurrences are entirely preventable.
After continuing to research the problem, I decided something needed to change. That is when I chose political science as my major to study in college. I wanted to learn how policies are created and how I could make the changes needed to help protect people from gun violence.
Unfortunately, being a student at Temple University, I have seen firsthand how much damage can be done when a gun gets into the wrong hands.
Gun violence remains a significant health and safety issue in the United States. With increasing incidents of mass shootings and firearm-related injuries, there is a pressing need for immediate measures to protect our community, with the added hopes of inspiring other political leaders to take charge of this nationwide pressing problem. I will always fight for and support stronger gun safety measures, because the increasing firearm-related deaths and injuries affect everyone.
Communities ranging from urban areas to rural are affected by gun violence. Pennsylvania has enacted progressive reforms, such as requiring background checks for handgun purchases. However, long-standing exemptions and limited enforcement undermine these measures. I support recent legislative efforts, including HB 1018 and HB 1859, which aim to strengthen these provisions.
I remember seeing the news on school shootings, where ordinary kids just like me with worries about a paper or lab report due end up as a survivor of these tragic events in our country. To go to college having the same worries, not knowing when someone has a gun and could use it to inflict violence, terrifies me enough to speak out for gun safety in hopes to make a change.
Studying statistics and research on gun violence in this country has allowed me to see how rapidly growing this problem has become. Each day, an average of 132 people die from gun violence in our country. More people need to be educated on gun safety, and more laws on firearms need to be enacted to protect our citizens from harm.
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Petitioning to save SEPTA
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You may have seen members of Team 168 out and about the last few weeks with petitions to save SEPTA funding, or posters with a QR code to sign digitally. We are working hard to make your voices heard by the Senate that our communities depend on SEPTA for work commutes, visiting friends and family, and connecting to our region's attractions and businesses.
A robust public transportation system makes life better for all of us by supporting workers, students, veterans, seniors, and all of the people who keep our communities running.
Investing in SEPTA is a smart decision from every angle! A bill to adequately fund transit agencies across the commonwealth passed the House on a bipartisan vote this week.
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Bringing awareness to elder abuse
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I was invited by the Senior Law Center to speak this week at the World Elder Abuse Awareness Symposium! I informed attendees about legislation we’re working on in Harrisburg to protect Pennsylvanians against elder abuse, including more funding for skilled nursing facilities, better abuse reporting mechanisms, and updates to the Older Adult Protective Services Act.
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The Senior Law Center helps older victims of crime with a number of legal and educational services. They provide free legal representation and counsel, information, support and referral services for older adult victims of crime.
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I joined an amazing Flag Day celebration with the Delaware County Veterans Memorial Association last week! We are so fortunate to have the largest veteran's memorial outside of Washington DC in the 168th. This sacred place is very fitting venue where we can honor the symbol of the nation our veterans and service members pledged to protect.
We took the opportunity to reflect on the significance of our flag and what it represents to communities across Pennsylvania and the nation. Flag Day reminds us of the values we strive to uphold: freedom, justice, and equality for all.
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The event also honored two of Delco’s dedicated state senators, Senator Tim Kearney and Senator John Kane, who received the President’s Award for outstanding community service!
It was great to see so many friends from the community and to participate in “Operation Old Glory” as we properly disposed of old flags under the watchful eye of Newtown Square Fire Company Chief Chris Young.
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Expert input on EMS legislation
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I believe that home grown legislation is the best! And having our local experts weigh in on legislation to be considered by the house is even better.
Recently, Dr. Jean Bail, Emergency Management Coordinator for Newtown Township, Newtown Square Fire Company Officer, and Emeritus Associate Professor at Thomas Jefferson University (whew!) stopped in to discuss ways to enhance legislation which would create an EMS state advisory board.
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If there is one thing I've learned in my short time as a lawmaker, it's that legislation has to work for all parts of the state and all constituents it impacts. I thank Dr. Bail for sharing her expertise and I look forward to working with her and our Harrisburg staff to enhance the legislation.
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Delco Legislative Breakfast
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I was thrilled to join my Delco Delegation colleagues for a legislative breakfast with our county elected officials and administrators!
We got an update on the EMS Contingency Plan, the Crozer Health System closure, and a preview of the All-Weather (Code Red/Code Blue) Plan.
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DCHD's dedicated page on its website with updates on the Crozer Crisis is still updated regularly with news & advice.
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Of course, since it is June, we also discussed the state and federal budgets and how it all relates to how the county allocates funding in theirs.
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Applications are open for the PA House Legislative Fellowship Program
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The Pennsylvania House of Representatives Legislative Fellowship Program is currently accepting applications for the Fall 2025 semester. Applications are due on July 1, 2025.
The Fellowship Program is based in the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. Fellows are assigned to work in House Standing Committees or House Leadership offices, are compensated for their work (which may also include college credit), and are provided opportunities to draft and present their own legislation, attend meet-and-greets with various public officials and staff, and tour some of the Commonwealth’s historic public spaces.
Qualified applicants will be:
- College undergraduate juniors or seniors, graduate students, or law school students.
- Enrolled in a Pennsylvania college/university, or a Pennsylvania resident enrolled in an out-of-state institution.
- Pursuing any major with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
If you know of any college students who would benefit from the Fellowship Program, please invite them to visit the website at: www.pahousefellowship.us. Applications can be submitted via email to: pahousefellowship@pabmc.net.
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Pennsylvania State Capitol
28-B East Wing
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 772-2005
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District Office
24 S. Newtown Street Rd., Suite 100
Newtown Square, PA 19073
(484) 427-2884
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