The General Assembly has sent Gov. Tom Wolf a $39.8 billion budget that boosts spending for education and transportation but doesn’t spend much of the $7 billion provided to the state through the federal American Rescue Plan.The plan boosts K-12 education funding by $300 million — including $100 million designated for the state’s 100 poorest school districts. The budget also increases the amount of available tax credits for donations to scholarship funds for private school students by $40 million. Read more
Make no mistake, there was more good to be done in this budget. While some will call this historic education funding, we don’t need historic, we need transformative funding. Rather than hide this surplus in the Rainy Day Fund, we should’ve used it to help our school districts where it’s already been pouring for far too long. Read more
George Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin one year ago today. It has been a year of hurt, anger, protests and the beginning of change.His murder is also highlighting very important conversations about being Black in America. Read more
Members of the Edinboro University community told the House Democratic Policy Committee Thursday that consolidating six state schools, including Edinboro, into two would result in a loss of identity, place local communities at risk, and fail to address the core problems facing higher education. Read more
On this week's Face the State, Ryan Eldredge welcomes Representative Seth Grove (R-York) and Representative Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia) to talk about the impact of new Pennsylvania constitutional amendments, and possible election reform following state primaries. Read more
STATE COLLEGE, May 11 – The workers who have been hit hardest by the pandemic need support. The PA House Democratic leadership team is hosting a rally Wednesday to make the case for workers’ rights to a fair wage, hazard pay and paid family and sick leave and how the PA Rescue plan would do just that. The rally will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 12 at The Borough Building, 243 S. Allen St., State College . The media is encouraged to attend. The PA Rescue Plan includes more than $1.5 billion for job training, hazard pay, wage boosts for direct-care workers and job creation efforts to kickstart the economy in communities across the state. The PRP aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . Read more
HARRISBURG, May 5 – After weeks of gathering public support for the Pennsylvania Rescue Plan to invest federal dollars to do the most good for working families, the House Democratic Leadership team released the following statement on the next steps to discuss the plan and how it would help us recover, restore and reimagine a better future coming back from COVID-19. “Next week more than $7 billion is coming to the Keystone State as part of the American Rescue Plan, and we have to make sure that money is invested properly, not hidden away in a government vault for a rainy day – because it’s hard to imagine a storm that could hit harder than COVID-19. People need help now. “As USA TODAY network coverage noted, House Democrats have a plan that helps schools, workers, businesses, families, renters, landlords and more while Republicans have no plan to distribute the funds. We urge the majority party to get on board and do the right thing for people everywhere. “We’ve received an overwhelming response to the PA Rescue Plan so far, and next week we’ll be taking the plan to the people with a statewide tour – starting Monday in Philadelphia and Reading talking about investing in infrastructure and rebuilding our downtowns, continuing Tuesday in Pittsburgh and Erie discussing housing, Wednesday in Harrisburg and State College talking worker pay, and finishing up on Thursday in Scranton and Allentown to discuss helping Read more
The guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin following the murder of George Floyd is once again spurring calls for police reform across the nation including in Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, a group of democratic PA Representatives introduced legislation that seeks to outlaw the use of the standard chokehold during arrests, including the same chokehold used on George Floyd. Read more
Following previous grant amounts totaling over $2.2 million, state Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Phila., House Democratic Whip, announced another grant for completion of the Schuylkill River Trail from the Commonwealth Financing Authority aimed at completing the Christian to Crescent segment of the trail. Read more
Pennsylvanians looking for relief from the hardships of the past year can look to the House Democrats’ Pennsylvania Rescue Plan for solutions that do the most good for the most people. The House Democratic Leadership team released the following statement on how the plan would strengthen communities, help working people and support businesses and families: “We have a unique opportunity to drastically improve the lives of millions of Pennsylvanians with smart investments in people, businesses, health care and our workforce. The Pennsylvania Rescue Plan does just that by directing federal funds to help businesses get back on solid ground, invest in our frontline workers who were essential to getting us through the pandemic, repair our crumbling public schools so students can learn and teachers can teach in a non-toxic environment and strengthen our workforce through training tomorrow’s in-demand employees. Read more
For Pennsylvania state House Rep. Jordan Harris, a Philadelphia native, politics is personal. “I represent the hood that I grew up in, so this is different for me,” Harris said in an interview with students in Professor Amy Worden’s “Journalism in the 21st Century” class. “My constituents are my cousins, my mom, my uncles, the folks that watched me grow up. I have a different responsibility to them,” he added. Read more
For weeks, Tyrique Glasgow heard the stories of vaccine frustration from fellow members of the Black community in South Philadelphia:The clinics that were too far away for someone without a car. The sign-up websites that wouldn’t load fast enough for someone with limited internet access. The appointment slots that were snapped up by people outside the city. Read more
A bill calling for extending the operating hours of Pennsylvania bars, restaurants and other nightlife establishments from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. will be introduced next week in the State House of Representatives, a proposal aimed at ushering along the hard-hit hospitality sector. The bill will be introduced by Rep. Jordan Harris (D-District 186) and would aim to create “extended use permits” for liquor licensees, he told the Business Journal on Thursday afternoon. The measure would also give local municipalities the ability to decide for themselves whether they want to allow the extended hours, and designate specific zones where that can happen if they do opt into extending operating hours. Read more
Bars and restaurants in Pennsylvania have really taken quite a hit during the pandemic.One state lawmaker thinks he has a good solution to help them recover faster. As money editor Jon Delano reports, it’s all about how long they serve alcoholic drinks.Under state law, most bars and restaurants in Pennsylvania close their tap or cork the bottle at 2 a.m. But Pennsylvania Rep. Jordan Harris says it’s time to extend that to 4 a.m. Read more
With time running out to provide a chance at justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse through an emergency constitutional amendment, the House Democratic leadership team released the following statement calling on Republican leadership to commit to bringing the measure up for a vote on Monday:“In early February, Republican leadership made a public promise on the House floor to get an emergency constitutional amendment to the Senate and provide a chance at justice to the survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Due to their wavering and inaction this week, we’re now dangerously close to running out of time to get this in front of Pennsylvanians in the May Primary Election. Read more
State Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Phila., the House Democratic whip, joined 2nd District Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson in releasing the following statement praising the increased availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the city due to the opening of a mass vaccine clinic at Grand Yesha Ballroom, located at 2308 Snyder Ave. in South Philadelphia: Read more
Stay up to date with Rep. Harris' Winter 2021 newsletter. Read more
Pennsylvania voters will likely soon get the final say about whether to limit the governor’s powers during a disaster emergency after a divided state House of Representatives endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday. Read more
Following a sometimes heated debate on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania House passed a constitutional amendment to limit emergency declarations by the governor, after the state Senate approved a similar bill the previous night. Read more
The PA House Democratic whip, state Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Phila., today announced that state Reps. Jessica Benham, D-Allegheny; Donna Bullock, D-Phila.; Danilo Burgos, D-Phila.; Morgan Cephas, D-Phila.; Patty Kim, D-Dauphin; Kyle Mullins, D-Lackawanna; Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh; Melissa Shusterman, D-Chester/Montgomery; Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington; and Jared Solomon, D-Phila., will serve as deputy whips for the 2021-22 legislative session. Read more
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