Every child who needs vision care deserves it, because having good glasses lays the groundwork for a successful future.

That is why I will be partnering with VSP Eyes for Hope to host two Children's Health Days on October 8 and 9 at Centro Hispano Casa de la Amistad (25 N. 2nd St., Reading), where VSP will host a mobile vision clinic to get eligible children glasses on-site. My staff and I will also be available to provide those attending with a wide variety of state services.

This week, the House passed HB 634, my legislation that will help to get silent panic alarms into our schools.

The bill, also known as Alyssa's Law, would require schools to consider the implementation of silent panic alarms during annual security inspections. I have worked with Lori and Ilan Alhadeff, who lost their daughter Alyssa in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting, to advance this lifesaving legislation.

In addition to Alyssa's Law, my House colleagues and I passed several other important bills that will help our neighbors and improve communities:

We’re protecting your health and safety, especially when it involves artificial intelligence, by requiring that patients are informed when AI is used during treatment or insurance decisions and ensuring that any final decisions on patient care or coverage are made by humans (HB 1925).

We’re also requiring safeguards to prevent AI companions from encouraging or assisting suicide, self-harm or violence and direct users to crisis resources like the 988 Lifeline when appropriate; requiring AI companions to clearly disclose that users are interacting with AI rather than a human; and protecting kids from sexually explicit content and AI interactions designed to isolate them (HB 2006).

We’re increasing access to healthcare by requiring health insurers to cover fertility preservation services if a medically necessary treatment, like cancer treatment, could cause infertility (HB 2649) and by expanding the age groups who are offered the vaccines for flu, pneumonia, and RSV after a hospital stay or as part of their ongoing medical care (HB 2378).

We’re protecting consumers by requiring the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to explicitly consider the public interest – including affordability and service reliability – when making decisions on utility rates (HB 2184) and by setting statewide standards for licensing home inspectors and registration of home inspectors in training (HB 2645).

We’re continuing to hold Big Tech accountable and strengthening public safety by requiring data center operators to submit emergency floor plans to building code officials and local fire chiefs before they get an occupancy certificate (HB 2535).

We’re improving interactions between individuals and law enforcement by giving people with a communication barrier the option to show that on their driver's license or identification (HB 1700).

It was an honor to join my colleagues for the opening of the Capitol's new nursing facility. Nursing can be challenging for many mothers due to a lack of inadequate facilities. Now, mothers who visit or work in the Capitol now have a dedicated space where they can take care of their needs and those of their children.

Thank you to the Department of General Services, the Department of Health, and my colleagues for pushing for this installation!

This week, I had the honor of welcoming several guests to attend House session in Harrisburg.

I welcomed several of our local SEIU Healthcare union members who work at Spruce Manor in West Reading. Kevin Hefty is a union organizer for SEIU Healthcare PA, who lives in my district; with him are Cheila Martinez, Kim Jackson and April Childron. They came to the Capitol to highlight the importance of closing our budget deficit and ensuring adequate funding for healthcare services. 

They were also joined by Neal Miller, a registered nurse at Wernersville State Hospital, who sees firsthand the critical need for increased resources to strengthen mental healthcare in our communities.

I was also joined by Isaiah Gomez, the executive director for 365 Health Services, a home care and staffing agency that has been committed to creating success by leading and serving others in our community. For Isaiah, being a part of 365 is more than a job; to him, it is a calling to better serve his community. 

Finally, as we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I had the honor of joining colleagues both from the Legislative Latino Caucus and the Luzerne County delegation in welcoming Sheriff Genesis Arias to the Capitol.

Sheriff Arias is a trailblazing leader who recently became the first woman to serve as sheriff in Luzerne County history, and the first Hispanic woman to serve as a sheriff anywhere in Pennsylvania!

Election Day is approaching, and it is important that everyone can make their voice heard at the ballot box!

You can check your voter registration, find your polling place, or sign up to vote here by October 19, and request a mail-in or absentee ballot here by October 27.

Polls will be open on Tuesday, November 3, from 7 AM – 8 PM.