HARRISBURG, Dec. 16 – State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, announced the approval of $67,050 in funding through the Neighborhood Assistance Program to support educational initiatives for at-risk students and public safety improvements in Pottstown. The funding was approved this week by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Through NAP, businesses can receive tax credits of up to 95% for contributions made to qualifying community projects. “These investments in Pottstown’s youth and public safety will go a long way toward improving the quality of life,” Ciresi said. “Together, these state awards look to the future by supporting young learners and helping protect downtown Pottstown for everyone’s enjoyment.” The approved funding includes: • $51,300 to RSVP Volunteers to provide critical math and reading support to at-risk and vulnerable students in the Pottstown and Norristown school districts. The funding will also support family literacy programs for Pre-K MCIU Head Start students and essential digital literacy training across Montgomery County, both directly and in collaboration with community partners. • $15,750 to Pottstown Area Industrial Development Inc. to enhance public safety and strengthen community trust in the 300 block of East High Street in Pottstown. The project includes installing a new security camera to complete the police department’s monitoring Read more

HARRISBURG, Dec. 16 – State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, today announced his opposition to President Donald Trump’s executive order which would override states’ authority to regulate artificial intelligence. Ciresi serves as the majority chair of the House Communications & Technology Committee. According to The New York Times , the order gives the U.S. attorney general immense authority to sue states and overturn laws that the Administration views as not in alignment with its goal of global domination of the AI industry. Trump has directed federal regulators to withhold funds for broadband and other projects if states keep their laws in place. Trump’s argument is that his order would provide a federal regulatory framework that would override the patchwork of state regulations that might limit technological innovation and give China a competitive edge, according to The Hill . Some critics contend that Trump’s order is a “carve-out for Big Tech” as it both fails to offer a strong national standard on AI regulations and blocks states from regulating the technology. The Trump executive order is the latest move in Washington to limit regulation of AI, including the president’s previous executive orders allowing access to federal data and making it easier for companies to build AI infrastructure. Congressional Republicans have twice this year tried to pass moratoriums on state AI laws, with both efforts Read more

HARRISBURG, Dec. 16 – The PA House Democratic Delaware County Delegation today announced the approval of $408,500 through the Neighborhood Assistance Program to help low-income people and communities and improve distressed areas in Delaware County. The funding was approved this week by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Through the NAP, businesses can receive tax credits of up to 95% on contributions they make to a qualifying community project. “Nearly 90 organizations in our region have been selected for funding through the state’s Neighborhood Assistance Program,” Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, D-Phila/Delaware, said. “These groups work tirelessly to serve our neighbors and strengthen our communities. I’m proud to partner with many of these groups on projects that provide food, job training, and healthcare to so many of our neighbors.” “This investment through the Neighborhood Assistance Program will make a real difference for families and neighborhoods across Delaware County,” said Rep. Leanne Krueger. “These funds will strengthen our communities and improve quality of life, and I’m proud to support programs that ensure resources reach the neighborhoods that need them most.” “These public-private partnerships are a concrete way for our local businesses to give back to our communities AND reap the economic dividends from these investments in Read more

HARRISBURG, Dec. 16 – In the wake of last week’s Trump executive order limiting state authority over artificial intelligence, the Pennsylvania House Communications & Technology Committee, chaired by state Rep. Joe Ciresi, held a hearing emphasizing the need for state regulations despite the federal push to deregulate the emerging technology. The committee considered legislation (H.B. 1925) that would establish guardrails for the use of AI in the health care industry. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by state Reps. Arvind Venkat, D-Allegheny, Joe Hogan, R-Bucks, Tarik Khan, D-Phila., Bridget Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna, and Greg Scott, D-Montgomery. Venkat is a medical doctor, both Khan and Kosierowski are nurses, and Scott is an EMT. “As AI becomes an increasingly common part of our lives, it offers tremendous potential benefits, but we also need safeguards to protect the public from its misuse,” Ciresi said. “This hearing focused on striking that balance -- ensuring the technology is deployed responsibly with patient care as the priority. Putting the patient first means that important health care and insurance decisions, including prior authorization, must be driven by qualified human decision-makers who consider each patient’s individual circumstances, not just AI algorithms.” The legislation would establish rules for health care providers, insurers, and Medical Assistance and Children’s Health Read more

HARRISBURG, Dec. 12 – State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, today applauded the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ removal of lifetime caps for assistive technology, an achievement he has long championed. DHS removed the $10,000 lifetime limit and replaced it with a $3,000 annual limit in the Consolidated Waiver to support Pennsylvanians’ use of Assisted Technology. “The long, outdated limit hadn’t kept up with the times—either with technology or inflation—and so posed a big obstacle to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who use assistive technology to allow them to live more independent, safe and fulfilling lives,” Ciresi said. “As a legislator, I’ve voted to lift outdated caps like with the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program and the cost-of-living adjustment for long-retired public school teachers, and likewise I was an outspoken advocate in Harrisburg for the urgent necessity of removing the outdated cap on assistive technology. I am thrilled for the people in our communities who will now be able to get the technology they need.” During the public comment period on this proposed change in May, Ciresi joined state Rep. Joe Hohenstein and staff members from service provider KenCrest to discuss how SMART homes can help more people with disabilities live independently. Read more

The PA House Democratic Delaware County Delegation today announced nearly 3.5 million in state grant funding to support crime victims, children, and justice-involved people with substance use disorders, while strengthening local justice system services throughout Delaware County. The funding was approved this week by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Read more

KING OF PRUSSIA, Dec. 11 – State Rep. Tim Briggs, D–Montgomery, today announced that Upper Merion Township has been awarded $197,301 from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to launch a new law enforcement–behavioral health co-responder program within the Upper Merion Police Department. The program will improve how law enforcement responds to calls involving people experiencing mental or behavioral health crises. With this funding, UMPD will hire a full-time licensed behavioral health clinician to respond alongside officers, providing immediate support, crisis stabilization, and connections to ongoing care. “This investment will make a real difference in how our community responds to people in crisis,” Briggs said. “By pairing law enforcement with behavioral health professionals, we can improve outcomes, reduce unnecessary arrests or hospitalizations, and strengthen trust between residents and police.” Briggs, who serves as a commissioner on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, added: “PCCD does great work supporting community safety and innovation across the Commonwealth, and I’m especially proud to have supported this effort in my own district.” The co-responder program will: Develop and implement protocols for crisis stabilization, referral, and follow-up care. Collect and analyze data to evaluate outcomes and Read more

HARRISBURG, Dec. 5 – State Reps. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, and Jim Prokopiak, D-Bucks, have introduced legislation to regulate kratom — a substance with psychoactive effects that mimic those of opioids — which is currently unregulated in Pennsylvania. Kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia, is often consumed to reduce fatigue, manage pain or withdrawal symptoms, and to alleviate anxiety or depression. It can be ingested as teas, powders, capsules, liquids, or by chewing or smoking the leaves. However, because kratom can activate the same neurotransmitter receptors as opioids, prolonged or heavy use may lead to addiction, and independent tests have repeatedly shown that kratom products sometimes contain undisclosed or harmful additives. New synthetic kratom products, known as 7-OH, are particularly harmful and addictive. While the federal government has not formally regulated kratom, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration designates it as a “drug and chemical of concern.” In response to growing health and safety concerns, several states have enacted regulatory schemes or bans. Currently, Pennsylvania does not have a comprehensive regulatory framework and kratom is currently readily available – and often marketed – to children and young adults. House Bill 2058 , which is similar to the successful kratom regulation law in Utah, would: Prohibit the sale or distribution of kratom products to individuals under the age Read more

HARRISBURG, Nov. 25 – On Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed into law state Rep. Joe Ciresi’s legislation that will make it easier and less expensive for Pennsylvanians to claim property that is rightfully theirs — and reduce the financial burden following the death of a loved. Ciresi’s H.B. 1176 , now Act 50 of 2025: Increases the amount of unclaimed property that heirs can claim from the Pennsylvania Treasury using a notarized relationship affidavit from $11,000 up to $20,000. Raises the amount a financial institution may release to a family member of a deceased individual from $10,000 to $20,000 if the family member presents a receipt verifying funeral expenses have been paid. Redirects the estates of decedents who die with no will and no heirs to an endowed community fund near the place of the decedent’s last residence. “While Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property vault containing more than $4 billion sits there waiting for people to claim what’s rightfully theirs, the process has been too challenging or too expensive for people’s heirs to claim it,” Ciresi, D-Montgomery, said. “That’s because the legislature hadn’t updated the $11,000 limit for simplified heir claims for more than 20 years--since 2002! I am thrilled that my legislation, now law, will help Pennsylvanians access the money that belongs to them with less cost, less paperwork and less delay.” The new law included Read more

HARRISBURG, Nov. 21 — State Rep. Paul Friel announced today plans to introduce a resolution in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives condemning recent threats of political violence made by President Donald Trump against Democratic elected officials and reaffirming American service members’ long-standing duty to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. The resolution is in response to recent public statements from the President of the United States that have been widely interpreted as a threat of retaliation against those representatives for stating in a video that members of the U.S. Armed Forces can and should refuse unlawful directives. Friel and 29 other state representatives invited their colleagues to join them in supporting the resolution. The co-sponsorship memo states: "We are at a critical moment in American history. “When duly elected members of Congress publicly stated that, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the military must only follow lawful orders, the President of the United States declared they committed sedition and deserve death. This threat, and the rhetoric of political violence and retaliation, represents a betrayal of the American People and a threat to our constitutional democracy. “Upon taking office, we each swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. We cannot honor the military service members who have given their last full measure of Read more