According to the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, across the Commonwealth, we are faced with a shortage of housing that is available and affordable, especially for households making 30 percent of median family income; and below which equals an annual salary of $22,200 and below. For every 100 low income renter households in PA, there are only 66 affordable rental homes available, and for 100 very low income renter households, there are only 38 affordable units available.

This legislation would establish the Pennsylvania Community Reinvestment Act to provide additional safeguards in the residential mortgage market. The bill would mirror much of the federal CRA but provide additional safeguards to root out racial disparities in lending practices. Specifically, my legislation would require banks demonstrate that race plays no factor in their lending decisions. These disclosures would be public information and provide an additional factor in determining a bank’s compliance with the Pennsylvania Community Reinvestment Act.

The second piece of legislation I am proposing requires the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) to complete a poverty impact analysis on the governor’s proposed budget, the enacted budget and any bill, amendment or joint resolution upon written request of a member of the General Assembly. The poverty impact analysis for the governor’s proposed budget must be completed by May 1 of each year and the review of the enacted budget must be completed within 90 days of enactment.

This legislation increases the poverty exemption for the Personal Income Tax (PIT) by $1,000 per dependent.

Under the proposal, the current exemption of $9,500 would be increased to $10,500 for an individual and to $34,000 (up from $32,000) for a married couple with two dependent children.

This legislation increases the Rural Jobs and Investment Tax Credit.

Investing in rural Pennsylvania is vital to the economic strength of the Commonwealth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 48 of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties are rural. Approximately 27% of the Commonwealth’s population lives in a rural county. The American Community Survey found that 37% of rural households in Pennsylvania had incomes below $35,000.

This legislation known as the “Healthy Employee/Healthy Workplace Act,” would require every employer in this Commonwealth to provide paid sick leave to employees.

Over the past several years, paid sick leave has gained attention as numerous cities across the United States have enacted ordinances mandating paid sick leave. Since 2011 when Connecticut became the first state to require paid sick leave, nine other states and the District of Columbia have enacted paid sick leave laws. Pennsylvania should join those states in promoting healthy employees, healthy workplaces, and healthy families by enacting a paid sick leave law.

This legislation prohibits health insurance companies from using an individual’s preexisting medical conditions to deny or exclude coverage under a health insurance policy.

Actions by the Federal court and the Trump Administration have dismantled a popular and important provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that prohibits an insurance company from denying an individual insurance coverage because they have a preexisting health condition. Several States have sought and been approved for a waiver from this requirement and have begun selling insurance policies on the ACA marketplace that deny coverage to individuals with preexisting conditions.

This bill will codify the federal essential health benefits (EHB) into state law. Before the ACA imposes EHB, three in five people’s insurance policy did not provide maternity coverage and one in three policies did not cover substance abuse treatment.

Under our proposal, the ten essential health benefits (EHB) currently covered by the ACA would be placed into state law. The benefits our legislation would cover includes: ambulatory patient services; emergency services; hospitalization; maternity and newborn care; mental health and substance use disorder services including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.

The legislation will remove substantial financial burdens on students and their families and make college more affordable for students attending one of Pennsylvania’s community colleges, state system universities, and state-related institutions.

The Pennsylvania Promise will be administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and will cover tuition and fees for recent high school graduates attending one of the 14 community colleges and tuition and fees at a state-owned or state-related university for students with a family income of $110,000 or less per year. Students whose family income is $48,000 or less will also be eligible for assistance with costs associated with room and board.

This legislation will address the toxic, unsafe conditions in public school buildings throughout the Commonwealth.

The condition of public school facilities has broad impact on students, teachers and communities — affecting everything from physical health to academic achievement.

Most Pennsylvania public school buildings were built between 1950 and 1959; there are more than 200 Pennsylvania public school buildings built before 1950. Nearly half of those old buildings house students in the School District of Philadelphia. The systems within those buildings — heating, cooling, lighting, electrical, etc. — are broken, inefficient and in desperate need of replacement.

 This legislation would establish a new, trauma-informed system of education in Pennsylvania.

Decades of research have shown that for children experiencing trauma, the impact on brain development and function can be dramatic. Children experiencing trauma face an impediment to learning and require focused and proven interventions to overcome those obstacles. Research has also shown that empathetic trauma-informed/trauma-focused policies, procedures and practices will have positive impact on the social-emotional growth of students, on their academic achievement, and on the well-being and effectiveness of the professionals who serve them.

This legislation will comprehensively address the student debt crisis facing countless individuals and families throughout the Commonwealth.

The statistics are staggering. Nationwide, approximately 45 million people owe more than $1.5 trillion in federal student loan debt. In Pennsylvania, more than 1.8 million residents carry student loan debt. The average college graduate with a degree from a Pennsylvania school carried more than $36,000 in debt in 2017, making Pennsylvania first in the nation for student loan debt per capita.

This legislation will codify and enhance the Office of Environmental Justice within the Department of Environmental Protection.

In 1994, President Clinton directed Federal agencies to take actions to address environmental justice in minority populations and low-income populations. In 1999, DEP developed a statewide Environmental Justice Work Group which recommended the creation of an Environmental Justice Advisory Board and Office within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to address environmental justice issues.

This legislation, based on a similar law in Oregon, would essentially change our voter registration system from an “opt-in” system to an “opt-out” system. Under current law, citizens can elect to register to vote (“opt-in”) either electronically or by filling out a voter registration form when they apply for a public benefit, service or license through the Department of Transportation or other state agencies currently authorized to assist with registering voters.

Under my proposal, these agencies would automatically collect an individual’s relevant voting-related information with the application and send it electronically to the Department of State and to the counties for purposes of registering the voter. Prior to completing the registration, a voter would receive a notice allowing them to select a political party affiliation or to decline registration (“opt out”). If the individual does not “opt out” within 21 days, they will be added to the voter rolls.

This legislation prohibits “prison gerrymandering” in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Prison gerrymandering occurs when an inmate is counted by the census as a resident in their “usual residence,” which is the district of the prison in which he or she is incarcerated, as established by the first census in the Act of March 1, 1790. However, there are exceptions in the “usual residence” application. For instance, individuals in the process of moving, in rehabilitation or group facilities, or attending boarding school, were still counted in their home district or county. Therefore, the process of counting prison inmates should mirror this process throughout the Commonwealth since inmates will return to their home districts at the end of their sentence.

This legislation that strengthens collective bargaining in the Commonwealth.

The reality is that a strong and growing middle class has always been the fuel for our economy and it is the tide that lifts all boats. Over the past century, working Pennsylvanians saw greater increases in their standard of living during periods of increased unionization. Corporate special interests are funding anti-worker campaigns in order to weaken unions. The result of these efforts will likely negatively impact the wages, healthcare, workplace safety, and retirement of our teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses and countless other government workers who serve and protect us. This divide and conquer economic warfare on the middle class must be stopped.

This legislation known as the “Small Business Fee Exemption Act” would reduce or eliminate business startup fees for small businesses.

The week of May 5 through 11 is “Small Business Week” in Pennsylvania. Small businesses are the economic backbones of our communities. According to Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers, there are nearly one million small businesses in Pennsylvania. Small businesses across the Commonwealth account for nearly 50% of the private sector workforce.