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State Rep. Chris Rabb to introduce resolution that would designate Pennsylvania as a Hidden Heroes state

Temple University Agrivoltaics

(Mar 22, 2024)

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Rabb appointed to Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness

(Mar 14, 2024)

HARRISBURG, March 14 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., was appointed by Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton to the Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness on Wednesday. “I want to thank Speaker McClinton for appointing me to the commission and thank Executive Director Maraleen Shields for welcoming me to the commission,” Rabb said. “It’s imperative that we raise awareness of the impact that a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or status has on the fair delivery of justice within the commonwealth. I look forward to working with Director Shields and my fellow commission members as we address bias in the state courts and all branches of state government; and in the process, increase confidence in the fairness of every branch of Pennsylvania government.” Read more

 

Rabb highlights special election reform legislation ahead of Tuesday’s election

(Feb 07, 2024)

HARRISBURG, Feb. 7 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., is highlighting special election-related legislation ahead of Tuesday’s Pennsylvania House of Representatives special election in Bucks County. “The process by which we elect people in special elections is as important as regularly scheduled elections. That is why I have reintroduced legislation to modernize the process,” Rabb said. “Tuesday’s special election will decide the fate of who will control the House of Representatives.” Rabb said his legislation, H.B.1831, to modernize the special election process would ensure special elections are timely, cost effective and accessible by requiring that special elections happen sooner when a seat becomes vacant more than 90 days before the next election; requiring automatic mail-in voting for all elections while providing county boards of election the option to establish satellite voting sites ; subsidizing special elections from restitution paid by elected officials who have vacated their seats because of a felony conviction; and allowing candidates to electronically obtain nomination petition signatures. According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of State, the state spent almost $1 million on just five special elections in 2023. “This large expense is unnecessary and does nothing to promote civic literacy or nonpartisan engagement in Read more

 

Rabb releases statement on Montalvo Capitol visit

(Feb 06, 2024)

On Monday, Feb. 5, state Rep. Chris Rabb held a reception in his office for Mr. Noel Matos Montalvo, who in December was released from York County Prison after his 2003 conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Mr. Montalvo was convicted and incarcerated for over 25 years for a double homicide he did not commit. Numerous DNA tests and forensic reanalysis over the past two decades have all excluded Montalvo as a participant in the 1998 double homicide. “It was an honor to meet Mr. Montalvo in person today and to let him know that there are public servants in our commonwealth who stand with him on the right side of history, fighting to repeal our state’s cruel, ineffectual, costly and biased death sentence,” Rabb said. For four terms, Rabb has introduced legislation to repeal the death penalty. In October 2023, H.B. 999 was reported out of the House Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support and now awaits a House vote. “One person wrongly incarcerated is one too many,” Rabb said. “And now, we have one more person – an exoneree from death row – who is closest to the pain who can help lead the fight to abolish capital punishment in Pennsylvania.” Rabb has also introduced robust legislation in successive terms – currently H.B. 987 – to generously compensate and provide wrap-around services to Pennsylvanians whose liberty was stolen due to wrongful convictions. Read more

 

Rabb highlights Emancipation Day legislation

(Feb 05, 2024)

HARRISBURG, Feb. 5 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., on this day, the first Monday of February, is highlighting his legislation, H.B. 296 , which would establish the first Monday of February as “Emancipation Day” in the commonwealth. “In theory, the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments — otherwise known as the Reconstruction Amendments — should have led to the expansion of civil rights for Black Americans, but in practice we know that not to be the case. Black Americans have had to fight every step of the way and are still fighting to this day for true emancipation,” Rabb said. “As the axiom goes: ‘nobody’s free until everybody’s free.’” Rabb said the bill would acknowledge the ongoing struggle for Black liberation in a society that still poses threats and allows barriers to persist against the advancement of Black people and allied communities of struggle. Rabb reintroduced the bill on Feb. 2, 2023, and it was approved with overwhelming bipartisan support by the House State Government Committee on Nov. 14, 2023. It awaits a vote on the House floor. Read more

 

Rabb hosts Montalvo at Capitol, highlights legislation to repeal death penalty

(Feb 05, 2024)

HARRISBURG, Feb. 5 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., hosted Noel Montalvo at the state Capitol Monday for a discussion of wrongful incarceration and the death penalty. Montalvo was exonerated on Dec. 18, 2023, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his 2003 conviction and death sentence for a double homicide, following decades of forensic reanalysis and DNA testing showing that Montalvo was not involved in the crime. “Our criminal legal system is simply too fallible and biased -- and the benefits too small -- to continue this practice,” Rabb said of the death penalty. “Mr. Montalvo’s case is a prime example of the structural flaws of a system influenced by the legacy of lynching. He suffered immense trauma and spent years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. And worse yet, he easily could have died for it. We should consider ourselves fortunate that Mr. Montalvo was exonerated. Even one innocent life taken at the hands of the state is one too many.” Rabb reintroduced H.B. 999 , which would repeal Pennsylvania’s death penalty, on Feb. 16, 2023. The bill was successfully voted out of the House Judiciary Committee on Oct. 31, 2023, with bipartisan support, and awaits a vote on the House floor. Pennsylvania has exonerated 12 people since 1976. Over that same timeframe, the commonwealth has executed three people, all of whom forwent their right Read more

 

Rabb urges passage of body camera resolution following Fairhill corner store shooting

(Feb 01, 2024)

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 1 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., said it’s imperative the House pass legislation ( H.R. 113 ) that would study and bring accountability to the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement, following the Tuesday release of surveillance footage of the shooting death of Alexander Spencer. “The people of the commonwealth deserve accountability from law enforcement, and body-worn cameras are vital to the protection of both civilians and officers,” Rabb said. “Pennsylvania deserves to know how body cameras are being used by our law enforcement agencies across the state, which departments are utilizing body-worn cameras, and how we can continue to support the individuals that have sworn to protect and serve us.” The resolution would direct the Joint State Government Commission to study how body-worn camera footage is currently used and stored in this Commonwealth and require the commission to prepare a report assessing the cost of filming, storing and reviewing complete body-worn camera footage, provide recommendations on how to ensure that footage is used for the justice of all and shielded from cyber threats, and establish an advisory committee comprising individuals who have expertise and experience fields, positions and situations relating to criminal justice, cyber security, ethics and law enforcement. House Resolution 113 was approved by the House Judiciary Read more

 

Rabb: Allow Municipalities to Enact Local Gun Laws

(Jan 18, 2024)

PA state Rep. Chris Rabb speaks to his Republican colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee about the need for local control over gun laws in the Commonwealth. Rabb says rural and urban communities are not the same and should be allowed to control firearms in a way that best serves their population. Read more

 

Rabb Addresses Republican Rhetoric on Gun Laws

(Jan 18, 2024)

PA state Rep. Chris Rabb challenges Republican lawmakers to ditch their rhetoric and talk to the people most affected by gun violence. Read more

 

Rabb: $42,500 in state grants awarded to local park

(Jan 16, 2024)

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 16 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., announced today that Mt. Airy Playground received $42,500 in state grant funding from the Commonwealth Financing Authority through the Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program. “I am thrilled to see the state make investments in our community with our tax dollars in a tangible way,” Rabb said. “Playgrounds are a great place for children to learn, interact with each other and develop social skills, and are a great place for families to bond and communities to grow. I look forward to seeing the completed project.” Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program projects involve development, rehabilitation and improvements to public parks, recreation areas, greenways, trails and river conservation. Grants can be awarded for up to $250,000 for any project. A 15% match of the total project cost is required. Read more

 

Rabb introduces legislation honoring National Day of Mourning

(Nov 22, 2023)

HARRISBURG, Nov. 22 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., is drafting legislation that would recognize the National Day of Mourning in the commonwealth. Rabb said the National Day of Mourning is a counter-commemoration to Thanksgiving, which has been celebrated since 1970, and is a recognition of the dark and shameful past imbedded in colonial history. The holiday honors Indigenous ancestors and Native resilience in Pennsylvania and across the nation. “Since its inception, the Thanksgiving holiday has been a celebration of Pilgrims and other European settlers taking possession of Indigenous lands in North America. Hundreds of years after the ‘first Thanksgiving,’ Indigenous peoples across the nation continue to fight for their rights and spend the Thanksgiving holiday mourning the loss of Indigenous life and culture, in protest against racism and oppression, and in celebration of the resiliency of Native people,” Rabb said. “For too long Pennsylvania has been home to ideas of White cultural superiority, exemplified in the 1763 Conestoga massacre, the 1782 Gnadenhutten massacre, and the inception of federally run Native boarding schools at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which sought to exterminate Native culture and force Whiteness and Americanization on Indigenous children until it finally closed in 1918.” This resolution would honor the perspective of Native peoples and draw attention to Read more

 

Rabb: Agrivoltaics Could Bring Economic Relief to Struggling Farmers

(Nov 15, 2023)

PA state Rep. Chris Rabb explains the importance of his resolution to study the efficacy of helping farmers to install solar panels on their farmland. Agrivoltaics is the coexistence of solar and traditional farms occupying the same space and Rabb says it could bring the economic boost farmers need to survive today’s challenging economy. Read more

 

Rabb: Why PA Needs Emancipation Day

(Nov 15, 2023)

Though PA played a pivotal role in the abolition of slavery, state Rep. Chris Rabb explains that the path to freedom in the commonwealth was a long and often unfair journey. Rabb’s legislation would establish a new holiday called Emancipation Day, a day to acknowledge the ongoing struggle for Black liberation in a society that continues to impose barriers to their advancement. Read more

 

Rabb resolution to study agrivoltaic farming approved by PA House Local Government Committee

(Nov 15, 2023)

HARRISBURG, Nov. 15 – A resolution ( H.R. 224 ) introduced by state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., commissioning a study on agrivoltaic farming was approved with bipartisan support by the Pennsylvania House Local Government Committee today. The resolution would direct the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study on what benefits agrivoltaic farming, which allows for dual use of the same land to farm and to collect solar energy, could offer Pennsylvania and what opportunities exist for agrivoltaic farming to expand in Pennsylvania. Established in 1937, the Joint State Government Commission is the primary non-partisan research organization serving our state legislature, providing lawmakers with a readily available mechanism for conducting interdisciplinary research and analysis that can inform robust, evidence-based legislation. “My hope is that this resolution passes by year’s end,” Rabb said. “This prospective study can lead to a bipartisan bill that will bring agrivoltaics to Pennsylvania to help struggling family farmers and preserve farmland while incentivizing clean energy projects to create more green collar jobs and promote environmental resiliency across our commonwealth.” Read more

 

Rabb Fights for Reproductive Rights

(Nov 14, 2023)

Looking back on PA’s history as a refuge for people fleeing slavery in other states, state Rep. Chris Rabb explains why he is in favor of legislation that would protect the reproductive rights of women and the medical professionals providing treatment. Read more

 

Rabb highlights voting and electoral reform legislation prior to Tuesday’s municipal elections

(Nov 06, 2023)

HARRISBURG, Nov. 6 – On the eve of tomorrow’s municipal election, state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., is highlighting multiple election-related bills that would make Pennsylvania’s election process fairer and function better while expanding and strengthening voting rights. “Tomorrow’s election will have large implications for Pennsylvanians both locally and across the commonwealth,” Rabb said. “And that’s why it’s important that we optimize our system to engage every eligible voter, especially our young people, who so frequently don’t or can’t make their voices heard.” Rabb introduced three pieces of legislation that would improve youth voting and civic engagement by allowing 16- and 17-year-old individuals to pre-register to vote, requiring the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to notify eligible individuals of their opportunity to preregister to vote when applying for a driver’s license or an identification card, establishing same-day voter registration, prohibiting rejection of a ballot based solely on signature analysis and removing the 15-day deadline to register to vote; providing for voter registration in high schools and comprehensive civics and voting rights education, including completion of a civics issue-based capstone research project; and lowering the voting age to 16 years old. “Voting is a civil right Read more

 

Rabb highlights legislation for Indigenous Peoples' Heritage Month

(Nov 02, 2023)

HARRISBURG, Nov. 2 – In celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Heritage Month, state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., is highlighting a series of wide-ranging legislation focused on honoring Native American culture and history while protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples. In 2021, Rabb authored a resolution that would have amended the rules of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to include a formal land acknowledgment at the beginning of each legislative week. He will be reintroducing the resolution this session. “Symbolism matters -- particularly when it’s tethered to substantive action around land back measures and other related matters. That’s why rhetoric must be followed by redress,” Rabb said. Rabb recently reintroduced legislation to protect Native American trademarks by preventing the use of Pennsylvania state intellectual property by non-Native American groups to claim Native American patterns and tribal names as well as other cultural heritage and intellectual property. He also is drafting legislation that would establish an independent, autonomous commission on indigenous affairs that has the budget and authority to work with the commonwealth on programs and funding opportunities to address policy concerns, sovereignty issues and land back initiatives. More than 60 schools across Pennsylvania still utilize derogatory Native mascots Read more

 

Rabb, others celebrate passage in committee of bill repealing Pennsylvania’s death penalty

(Nov 01, 2023)

HARRISBURG, Nov. 1 – State Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., and advocates held a news conference Tuesday to celebrate the successful bipartisan approval of his bill in the PA House Judiciary Committee that would repeal Pennsylvania’s death penalty. The action marked the first time in nearly 25 years that such legislation has been voted on in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In 2019, Rabb held a similar news conference featuring two death row exonerees, Jimmy Dennis and Kirk Bloodsworth , when the then-majority chair of the Judiciary Committee in the PA House refused to take up this bill and when Republicans held what would be a 12-year majority, which ended earlier this year. Rabb has reintroduced legislation ( H.B. 999 ) that would repeal the state’s death penalty four times since taking office in 2017. His call to action comes after Gov. Josh Shapiro announced upon taking office that he would not issue any execution warrants during his term. “One innocent life taken at the hands of the state is one too many . The fact that the state has put even one innocent person to death is simply egregious,” Rabb said. “Furthermore, the appeals process when a person is sentenced to death is long and costly, lasting decades and often resulting in their death via old age rather than lethal injection. “The risks are grave and the injustices Read more

 

Rabb Continues Fight to Repeal PA’s Death Penalty

(Oct 31, 2023)

PA state Rep. Chris Rabb joined his House Democratic Caucus colleagues and advocates to celebrate the advancement of his legislation that would eliminate the death penalty in PA. Rabb says our justice system is simply too fallible and the benefits too small to continue this practice. Read more

 

Bills to improve voting access for incarcerated individuals draw support from lawmakers, advocates

(Oct 19, 2023)

“Having people closest to the pain informed the policy — that will allow for justice for all,” Rabb said. Read more

 

Temple University Agrivoltaics
Mar 22, 2024

Rabb appointed to Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness
Mar 14, 2024

Rabb highlights special election reform legislation ahead of Tuesday’s election
Feb 07, 2024

Rabb releases statement on Montalvo Capitol visit
Feb 06, 2024

Rabb highlights Emancipation Day legislation
Feb 05, 2024

Rabb hosts Montalvo at Capitol, highlights legislation to repeal death penalty
Feb 05, 2024

Rabb urges passage of body camera resolution following Fairhill corner store shooting
Feb 01, 2024

Rabb: Allow Municipalities to Enact Local Gun Laws
Jan 18, 2024

Rabb Addresses Republican Rhetoric on Gun Laws
Jan 18, 2024

Rabb: $42,500 in state grants awarded to local park
Jan 16, 2024

Rabb introduces legislation honoring National Day of Mourning
Nov 22, 2023

Rabb: Agrivoltaics Could Bring Economic Relief to Struggling Farmers
Nov 15, 2023

Rabb: Why PA Needs Emancipation Day
Nov 15, 2023

Rabb resolution to study agrivoltaic farming approved by PA House Local Government Committee
Nov 15, 2023

Rabb Fights for Reproductive Rights
Nov 14, 2023

Rabb highlights voting and electoral reform legislation prior to Tuesday’s municipal elections
Nov 06, 2023

Rabb highlights legislation for Indigenous Peoples' Heritage Month
Nov 02, 2023

Rabb, others celebrate passage in committee of bill repealing Pennsylvania’s death penalty
Nov 01, 2023

Rabb Continues Fight to Repeal PA’s Death Penalty
Oct 31, 2023

Bills to improve voting access for incarcerated individuals draw support from lawmakers, advocates
Oct 19, 2023