HARRISBURG, April 4 – As an advocate for customer protections in Pennsylvania, state Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery), announced today he has introduced legislation (H.B. 2186) that would help people avoid falling victim to gift card scams. Read more
With just two month until the general election, Pa. state Rep. Joe Ciresi called on his House colleagues to prevent ballot drop boxes from being taken away in November and to adopt his proposal delaying any changes to vote by mail ballot deadlines until after this election. Read more
Pa. state Rep. Joe Ciresi hosted a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on reducing costs through greater efficiency in local government with a special focus on shared services and cooperation. Read more
Read about my upcoming transit virtual town hall and more news. Read more
Check out the Summer 2020 newsletter with updates on transportation, grants and more. Read more
HARRISBURG, Aug. 27 – State Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, announced today that the House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on reducing costs through greater efficiency in local government with a special focus on shared services and cooperation. The hearing will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31 in Room G-50 Irvis Office Building in Harrisburg. The media and public are urged to watch the livestream at www.pahouse.com/live . Requested by state Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, the hearing will feature a discussion on the potential of local governmental cooperation and shared services to achieve cost savings, as well as other ideas, from various experts and stakeholders. Testifiers will speak remotely while members will participate in person and remotely. Ciresi has introduced H.B. 2760 , which would establish a new shared services grant program for school districts, counties and municipalities. Testifiers will include: Eric Wolfgang, president, Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Dr. John George, executive director elect, Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units. Dr. Kevin Singer, executive director, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit. Melanie Walter, director of division of local government services, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Dr. Peter Newman, professor of sustainability at Curtin University and lead author for transport on Read more
ROYERSFORD, Aug. 25 – State Rep. Joe Ciresi announced today that Pottsgrove High School and the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit 23 will be among the 220 recipients of nearly $17 million in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funds. UPDATE (Sept. 8): Due to a technical error in the listing from the Dept. of Education, it was initially missed that Pottstown High School was also included in this funding. Pottstown will receive $104,075 in Governor's Emergency Education Relief. The funding is aimed at improving educational services for approximately 180,000 students at schools designated for Additional Targeted Support and Improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act authorizes governors to determine the educational use of Governor's GEER Funds. Local grants will be awarded as follows: Pottsgrove High School, Pottsgrove School District - $58,465 Montgomery County Intermediate Unit 23 - $66,771 “All of our schools are working incredibly hard to deliver quality education in extremely difficult circumstances. I’m pleased that funding is being awarded to help those schools identified as in need of extra support, to ensure that all students’ needs are being met,” said Ciresi, D-Montgomery. Grants were calculated based on elements of the federal Title I, Part A formula, including the number of economically Read more
HARRISBURG, Aug. 25 – State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, applauded Gov. Tom Wolf calling for the creation of a grant program to provide relief for restaurants and bars affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as increased funding for small businesses and hazard pay, as part of his fall legislative agenda . This announcement followed Ciresi’s introduction of the bipartisan H.B. 2791 last week to provide $100 million in financial relief to bars, restaurants, and catering halls. “The comprehensive plan that Governor Wolf announced today will help Pennsylvanians and small businesses struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ciresi. “At a time when so many businesses are struggling, I am grateful to have the governor’s support in pushing for relief for small businesses and ‘mom and pop’ restaurants – the keystones of our communities – and I urge the legislature to swiftly act to provide this crucial funding.” The governor’s proposal also included $225 million in additional hazard pay assistance for 208,000 front-line workers; Ciresi had highlighted the need for additional funding after the previous round of hazard pay grants ran out of funding. “While the previous hazard pay grant provided important support to many of our front-line heroes, it was only able to help one-sixth of eligible applicants due to lack of funds,” added Ciresi. “I applaud the Read more
Before I dive into the usual traffic updates, I wanted to reshare some news from this past week that you might have missed. Read more
“Students with special needs have been particularly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the changes we’ve all been forced to make because of it,” Ciresi said. “The comfort of routine has been shelved, and that can be especially distressful for young minds that require an extra degree of support. I am not only grateful for this funding, but I am hopeful it will go a long way to reestablishing a sense of structure for those facing additional challenges in this upcoming school year.” Read more
“These establishments – particularly the smaller, ‘mom and pop’ businesses – are the lifeblood of a community and often become landmarks where we live, work and raise our families,” Ciresi said. “Because of the pandemic, so many of these bars, restaurants and catering halls are struggling to stay afloat, hurt by the inability to operate at full capacity. That’s why Rep. Davis and I have introduced this bill, to help as many local businesses as possible to get the funding they need and deserve.” Read more
“While the recent hazard pay grants provided important support to many of our frontline heroes, we need to do more,” Ciresi said. “Unfortunately, due to program guidelines and funding limitations, many of those putting themselves in harm’s way were left out, including firefighters and EMS. We have a responsibility to them – as fellow Pennsylvanians – to honor their long-term sacrifices and risks with financial assistance.” Read more
Email also highlights an upcoming transit tele-town hall and the latest traffic updates for 422. Read more
“While stormwater and sewer infrastructure is usually not at the top of people’s minds, it’s absolutely critical to keep maintained and in good repair,” Ciresi said. “This is why funding for these projects in Pottstown and Perkiomen was a major priority of mine, so that we address these structural issues now, not later when they could put people and the environment at risk. I will keep pushing to invest in repairing and modernizing our infrastructure and make sure that our communities have a strong foundation to build on.” Read more
Funding will go to Pottstown Borough Land Bank, Genesis Housing Corp. and the Montgomery County Department of Housing & Community Development. Read more
“A student’s first off-campus apartment is an exciting and crucial step in his or her growth, but most student tenants are unaware of their rights as tenants or what to do if they experience an unsafe condition in their apartment,” Ciresi said. “This leads too many of our young people living in unsafe conditions or being treated unfairly by landlords.” Read more
As you know, schools are facing a confluence of challenges as we head into the fall. That is one reason why I am happy to announce the following grants and relief for our area learning institutions: Read more
A CTC Equity Grant of $72,294 was awarded to Western Montgomery Career & Technology Center, while a Continuing of Education Equity Grant of $123,605 was awarded to Pottstown School District. Read more
Pottstown Regional Public Library and The Speaker’s House in Trappe were awarded $6,000 and $4,000, respectively, as part of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council program to help sustain the state’s cultural infrastructure. Read more
“With strained budgets, local governments and school districts throughout Pennsylvania are looking for ways to provide necessary services without raising taxes,” Ciresi said. “We have a real opportunity to improve local government and reduce property taxes through back-office reform and shared services, allowing us to do more with less while keeping our local representation and community identity." Read more
“Whether our postsecondary institutions offer in-person or online classes – MCCC has already indicated most of its fall courses will be offered online – this grant will go a long way to ensuring the safety and instructional needs of the students and faculty is met,” said Ciresi, whose 146th Legislative District includes Pottstown, home to MCCC’s West Campus. Read more
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