New Budget Plan; Student Champs Visit the Capitol; LGBTQ Youth Listening Sessions; REAL ID

New Budget Plan; Student Champs Visit the Capitol; LGBTQ Youth Listening Sessions; REAL ID – and more!

Rep. Arvind Venkat February 7, 2025 | 3:31 PM

Brainstorming to Boost Our EMS Services

Last week, I joined bipartisan and bicameral legislators at the Allegheny County EMS Forum to discuss the challenges facing our frontline emergency medical workers. As an ER Doc and legislator, I am committed to ensuring EMS can be there for all of us in our time of need.

In other first responder news, I was happy to help Emsworth’s heroic volunteer firefighters secure state grant funding to replace aging turnout gear. I want to thank these firefighters – and all our district’s first responders – for their lifesaving work.

Celebrating the Tamil Harvest Festival of Pongal

It was wonderful to join Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and Congresswoman Summer Lee at a celebration of the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal hosted by the Fulbright Program, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and Carnegie Mellon University. As the first Tamil member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, I was proud to share the importance of this holiday for me and my family.

Hearing from You

When I go to Harrisburg, my legislative priorities start with our community and its needs, which is why I have returned to door-knocking. I recently spoke with neighbors in McCandless about lowering the cost of living; expanding health care access; addressing gun violence; protecting individual rights; and funding public health, safety, and education. I’m looking forward to more great community conversations in the weeks ahead.

Celebrating Women Physicians

Monday was National Women Physicians Day, and I was so proud to celebrate my wife, Veena, and all the other female physicians who work with great skill and dedication to keep our community healthy.

Wearing Red for Women’s Heart Health

Monday was also Women’s Heart Health Awareness Day, and I was proud to join bipartisan colleagues to wear red to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death for U.S. women. As an emergency physician and legislator, I urge the women in our community to speak with their physicians on how to best reduce their risk. You can learn more here.

Welcoming Student Champs to the Capitol

It was an honor to welcome the North Allegheny School District’s Boys Golf, Girls Volleyball, and Boys Water Polo PIAA championship teams to the State Capitol with Rep. Jeremy Shaffer. We presented the teams with House citations, recognized them in the House chamber, and congratulated the student-athletes and their coaches on their amazing seasons. Go Tigers!

A Budget to Build On – Governor’s Spending Plan Is a Good Start

On Tuesday, Governor Shapiro presented his proposed state budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to the General Assembly. This starts the deliberation process within the legislature on how we fund the vital services in state government in a fiscally responsible way. I will be focused on ensuring that the public health, public safety, and public education needs of our community and across Pennsylvania are met. You can see my remarks reacting to the Governor’s proposal here.

House Passes My Bipartisan Bill with Rep. Mihalek to Help Curb Food Allergy Emergencies

A strong bipartisan majority of the House passed the bill I introduced with State Rep. Natalie Mihalek to enact food allergy protections in restaurants and other food retail facilities. As an ER doc, I have treated many patients with food allergies. As a legislator, I am proud to champion this effort to reduce the risk of these life-threatening emergencies. No Pennsylvanian should fear going out to eat. Our bill – which now heads to the state Senate for consideration – would save lives. You can hear my remarks in the House chamber here.

How We Voted in the House This Week

In addition to our food allergy safety bill, I voted for – and the House passed – bills that would:

Help parents recognize childhood eating disorders.
Protect health care workers from the harmful effects of surgical smoke in operating rooms.
Allow parking-protected bike lanes.
Help protect transportation workers by educating new drivers on safe work zone driving.
Protect jobs in the poultry industry.
Provide flexibility for school intermediate units.

Visit this page to read more about those bills and others.

Learning More about REAL ID

Getting a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card is not mandatory, but once enforcement of the federal REAL ID Act begins on May 7, you will no longer be able to use your regular state driver’s license or ID card to board a domestic flight. Instead, you’ll need to show either a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or ID card (or some other form of federally accepted identification, like a passport or military ID).

If you fly often and want to continue using your driver’s license as identification at the airport, you may want to consider upgrading to a REAL ID. You can read more here.

LGBTQ Youth Listening Sessions Coming Up

The Governor’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs has identified expanding protections for LGBTQ youth as a priority and will be hosting virtual LGBTQ Youth Listening sessions for middle- and high-school students.

The sessions will be held from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11 and Wednesday, March 19 via Zoom. Students interested in attending should RSVP by completing the survey form at this page.

Community groups or centers that are able to host a hybrid in-person/virtual session for participating youth should complete the survey here.

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Wants Your Input on Recreation Plan

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has announced a series of webinars and an open opportunity for people to share their thoughts on ways to improve and expand outdoor recreational opportunities. Among other things, people will be able to comment on a draft of the 2025-2029 Pennsylvania Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Visit this page to read more.

Finding Funding, Getting Help with State Matters

This is a reminder that the state has a new tool to help residents, local officials, community groups, nonprofits, and businesses find state grants. Click on the image above to access the grant finder. You can also find a list of the latest state grant openings here.

As always, if you have questions or need help with any state-related matter, please don’t hesitate to contact my office.