Harrisburg – June 30, 2021 − Senator Wayne Langerholc, Jr. (R-35), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, and Senator Jay Costa (D-43), minority leader of the Senate, announced a two-year pilot program for electric low-speed scooters (e-scooter) to commence in the City of Pittsburgh with the passage of Act 24 of 2021.
“Micromobility is transforming how we move people and goods in communities across the United States. With Act 24, the Commonwealth is embracing the innovation of e-scooters in a controlled setting in the City of Pittsburgh,” said Senator Langerholc. “E-scooters are a novel invention for a short trip or a last-mile destination. In every case, riders are encouraged to operate e-scooters in a safe manner by following the rules established by the City of Pittsburgh.”
“Pittsburgh is a world class city, and with so much to see and do – its residents and visitors need access to all modes of transportation,” said Senator Costa. “This pilot program for e-scooters is exciting and I’m confident that folks will enjoy them safely and responsibly to enjoy all Pittsburgh has to offer.”
Act 24 authorizes rental e-scooters on a bike lane, a roadway (with a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less) or a bike path in the City of Pittsburgh. An individual must be at least 16 years old, and e-scooter operators shall be granted all of the rights and duties as a bicyclist.
E-scooters will be managed under “Move PGH,” which is a city-led initiative to create an integrated platform allowing residents and visitors access to e-scooters, e-mopeds, carshare, carpool, bikeshare and transit services from the Port Authority of Allegheny County. This legislation does not permit the use of personally-owned e-scooters on public infrastructure in the City of Pittsburgh.
Harrisburg, Pa. – June 25, 2021 – Pennsylvania State Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa today voted in support of the state budget for Fiscal Year 2021-22.
The final budget package included bipartisan and bicameral compromises, but Senator Costa highlighted several important investments it made this year.
“This isn’t the budget I would have designed and in many ways, I feel that it does not take full advantage of the unprecedented resources we have from a budget surplus and the federal American Rescue Plan – but this is a process of compromise, and there is a lot here that I support,” said Senator Costa. “We are seeing major levels of new and equitable funding in education, and that’s been something my caucus and I have fought for over many years. Further, we are still in recovery from a pandemic that ravaged our state for more than a year and it was important to me that we fund critical state programs with an on-time budget.”
Increased education line items this year include:
- $300 million in basic education
- $200 million to be funded through the Fair Funding Formula
- $100 million for Level Up, a new program to provide funding for schools that have been historically inadequately funded
- $20 million for Ready to Learn block grants
- $25 million for Pre K Counts
- $5 million for Headstart
- $50 million for special education
- $11 million for early intervention
- $200 million for PASSHE, over 4 years, including funding for the Diversity, Education & Inclusion program proposed by the PA Senate Democrats
Earlier this year, Pennsylvania was allocated $7 billion in funds from the American Rescue Plan and until this budget they remained unspent, despite a bold proposal from the Senate Democratic Caucus, a New Deal for PA. Of those dollars, $4 billion will go to balancing this year’s budget and more than $2 billion remains for future spending.
“The American Rescue Plan was designed to help people get back on their feet, not just balance spreadsheets,” said Senator Costa. “It is my hope, and a major goal of this caucus, to spend the remaining funds directly on the programs and initiatives that will help folks recover from the personal, public health, and economic devastation of 2020.”
The final budget also moves $2 billion in revenue surplus into the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
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For more information on the New Deal for PA, please visit pasenate.com/newdeal
Harrisburg, Pa. – June 25, 2021 – Pennsylvania athletes may soon be able to earn compensation from their name, image and likeness, thanks to a bill that passed the General Assembly, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa announced Friday night.
“There is an immense amount of money surrounding college athletics, and the players that attract attention to their sports have not been fairly compensated for their skills and work,” said Senator Costa. “I’m pleased with the efficiency we worked with here at the state level to grant all the appropriate permissions for our athletes to be compensated in their upcoming seasons.”
State law regarding athlete compensation was changed as part of a budget related bill, commonly referred to as the School Code. The language provides for the following:
- Authorizes college student athletes (athletes) to earn compensation for the use of the athlete’s name, image or likeness (compensation).
- Prohibits institutions of higher education (institutions) from: 1. hindering athletes earning compensation, and 2. attempting to recruit athlete by using third party compensation for name, image or likeness as an incentive.
- Prohibits the NCAA and other such intercollegiate athletic entities (entities) from: 1. preventing athletes from earning compensation; preventing an institution from participating in intercollegiate athletics due to athletes’ earning compensation.
- Requires persons making a profit on college team merchandise to make a royalty payment to each athlete whose name, image or likeness is used on the merchandise.
- Prohibits institutions and entities from interfering with athletes’ participation in athletics due to obtaining professional representation for name, image or likeness rights.
- Prohibits entities from interfering with institutions’ participation in intercollegiate athletics due to athletes obtaining professional representation for name, image or likeness rights.
- Provides that an athlete’s scholarship cannot be used to limit the athlete’s right to use name, image or likeness except as required in federal or state student aid guidelines.
- Prevents institutions and entities from being required to assist name, image and likeness compensation opportunities for athletes.
- Authorizes institutions to prohibit athletes name, image and likeness rights that conflict with institutions’ existing sponsor arrangements, or with institutions’ values.
- Provides athletes with State law protections and right to adjudicate, and the right to file a private civil action for a violation under the article.
The enabling legislation has passed the House and Senate; it now awaits a final signature from Governor Tom Wolf.
Six other states have similar laws that will permit athletes to earn compensation starting July 1.
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Harrisburg, Pa. − June 25, 2021 − Today on the PA Senate floor, Senate Republicans refused to consider a campaign finance amendment offered by Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa. He introduced the amendment to House Bill 1300, a piece of legislation that Republicans have inaccurately touted as “comprehensive voting reform.”
The Republican motion to table the amendment passed on party lines, 29-21 and the amendment did not even receive consideration on its merits.
“I do not understand how Republicans can call this bill a comprehensive approach to restoring faith in our elections when they will not even consider one of the most pressing issues facing our process – unfettered and unlimited campaign contributions,” said Senator Costa. “For years I have introduced campaign finance legislation and the majority party in Harrisburg refuses to hold hearings, but what they did today was even worse. As they pretended to address voting reform, they would not even consider the merits of my legislation, which I believe would go a very long way in restoring public trust in campaigns and government.”
Senator Costa’s amendment mirrored legislation he has introduced for several sessions and would:
- Require the disclosure of expenses to these entities so that the public knows who is trying to influence our elections
- Require credit card statements to be filed with campaign finance reports, ban the purchase of gift cards with PAC money, and define “personal purpose” so that the law is clear about the types of expenses that are prohibited.
- Empower public requestors to challenge a campaign’s wrongful denial of access to its vouchers, which are supposed to be available for public inspection, before the Department of State and provide the Department with clear authority to enforce such access through penalties.
- Limit the donations and expenditures to and from candidates, political committees, political action committees, political party committees or other persons, for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election. Limits on contributions and on the amount of donations candidates can take in will level the political playing field and limit corporate influence on our political system.
- Ban foreign corporate influence over our elections by prohibiting any corporation with a foreign owner holding at least 5% ownership (or foreign owners holding 20% ownership in the aggregate) from making independent expenditures, electioneering communication expenditures or contributions to political committees that make only independent expenditures (“super PACs”) for purposes of spending state and local elections in the Commonwealth.
Senator Costa voted against House Bill 1300, which despite Republican marketing efforts is nothing more than a broad attempt at voter suppression. The bill
- Limits the opportunity for counties to use drop boxes
- Gives LESS time to register to vote
- Requires voter ID each and every time you vote and requires 2 forms of ID when you vote-by-mail
- Requires signature verification with NO training or standards
- Gives LESS time to apply to vote-by-mail
- Creates several election-related audits under the Auditor General, a partisan elected official with no Risk Limiting Audit (RLA) experience
- Limits early voting
House Bill 1300 now goes to the Governor’s desk, where he has indicated it will be vetoed.
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Recommendations highlight data-driven policies and practices to protect community safety and create better paths for youth and families
HARRISBURG – June 22, 2021 – The inter-branch and bipartisan Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force on Tuesday released a comprehensive final report with policy recommendations that protect public safety, increase accountability, achieve savings for reinvestment, and improve outcomes for youth, families, and communities.
If adopted, these policy recommendations will safely reduce the population of young people in out-of-home facilities by 39% by 2026, freeing up nearly $81 million for reinvestment.
Co-chaired by Sen. Lisa Baker, Sen. Jay Costa, Rep. Tarah Toohil, and Rep. Mike Zabel, the task force was jointly established in 2019 by leaders from both parties and all three branches, including Governor Tom Wolf, Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Saylor, House Speaker Bryan Cutler, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, and Senate Minority Leader Costa. Leaders charged the task force with conducting an assessment of the juvenile justice system driven by data and stakeholder input and with developing recommendations to serve as the foundation for statutory, budgetary, and administrative changes for consideration during the 2021-2022 regular session of the General Assembly.
“We worked together to conduct an inclusive, inter-branch look at our system based in our own data and on the voices of stakeholders,” task force co-chair Sen. Lisa Baker said. “Our findings show we have an urgent opportunity to reinvest in communities across Pennsylvania. No matter where young people live, our system should be fair, aligned with what works best, and equipped with the tools to strengthen families and reduce recidivism.”
“This issue touches every corner of our Commonwealth,” Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler (R- Lancaster) said. “This findings in this report present us with the opportunity to ensure our juvenile justice system rehabilitates our youngest offenders to not only create a positive path for them, but also to strengthens families, protect communities and create long-term benefits for all Pennsylvanians.”
“Over the past 17 months, the task force has worked diligently to create these policy recommendations that will expand where our juvenile justice system has succeeded—and boldly transform the areas where we face challenges,” Governor Tom Wolf said. “We need to do better by our youth and communities, and that’s why this important work remains a top priority for all of us.”
“Through our Task Force’s collaborative work together, we have uncovered troubling data showing too many young people are removed from home on their first offense who aren’t assessed as likely to reoffend, said Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, president judge of Allegheny County and chair of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission. “The data also shows that children living in poverty and children of color are more likely to receive placement for their first offense. Our recommendations expand and reinvest in diversion and other efforts that are already succeeding in many counties to hold young people accountable at home in their own communities.”
In keeping with its charge from state leaders, the task force issued 35 recommendations to:
- Strengthen due process and procedural safeguards
- Focus costly out-of-home placement resources on young people who pose a threat to community safety, while more consistently diverting young people with low-level cases to community-based interventions
- Reinvest cost savings from reduced reliance on out-of-home placement into expanding the continuum of nonresidential programs to divert kids from juvenile court and from placement; strengthening system oversight; and filling victim restitution funds, among other priorities
- Prioritize restitution payments to victims and prevent unnecessary system involvement by eliminating the imposition of fines and most court fees and costs
- Ensure that young people who have completed their obligations to the court are not held back from successful transition into adulthood by records of juvenile justice system involvement
- Improve oversight to ensure that every young person placed in the custody of the Commonwealth is safe, treated fairly, and receiving a quality education
- Narrow the criteria for trying young people as adults in criminal court
- Increase system accountability and address inequities through enhanced data reporting to the public and wider representation on oversight bodies
The 30-member task force assessed the state’s juvenile justice system and reviewed data from court and state agencies and examined how current practices can better align with what research says works to improve outcomes for youth and families. The task force created avenues for public testimony through virtual meetings and written submissions, receiving input from more than 500 stakeholders.
The task force found that most youth in the juvenile justice system have little or no prior history of delinquency, have not committed a felony or a person offense, and do not score as high risk to reoffend— even though research shows most youth are not on a path toward adult crime and over-involvement in the system can increase their likelihood of reoffending. 59 percent of adjudicated youth sent to residential placement are removed from home for a misdemeanor, just 39 percent committed a person offense, and most had no prior adjudicated offenses. Out-of-home placement consumes the vast majority of taxpayer spending on delinquency services, and costs as much as $192,720 per youth per year. Outcomes for youth show large disparities by race and geography—even for similar youth behavior. The final report and recommendations, an executive summary, and other documents related to the Task Force’s work are available on its website.
The task force’s efforts build upon Pennsylvania’s past efforts to improve its juvenile justice system, such as the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Strategy and legislation sponsored by Sen. Baker following the recommendations of the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice.
“While today marks the end of a long and comprehensive process to present this report about the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice system, what’s working well, and what we need to improve—it is really just the beginning,” said task force co-chair Sen. Costa. “It is now time for my fellow co-chairs and all my colleagues in the General Assembly to pick up the baton and enact these recommendations.”
“Thank you to all task force members, and to the hundreds of stakeholders across the Commonwealth who reached out, shared their experiences, and provided input to help us land on the best and most important changes to Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system,” said task force co-chair Rep. Mike Zabel. “I am proud of the bi-partisan, data-driven process we helped lead and look forward to moving forward on these recommendations to create a system that works better for kids and families.”
The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Crime and Justice Institute provided technical assistance to the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force throughout the entire process at the invitation of state leadership.
Harrisburg, Pa. – June 21, 2021 − After Republicans failed to pass a clean, bipartisan bill to extend mixed drinks to go for restaurants and taverns, the Pennsylvania Senate Democrats are introducing legislation that will provide the opportunity for bars, taverns and restaurants to extend some of the emergency provisions of the disaster declaration.
Under leadership of the Senate Democrats, the General Assembly passed statutes that permitted restaurants to sell mixed drinks to go, sell alcohol outside in contiguous areas, expand off premise catering permits, and receive other waivers and discounts on fees, which we were under the protections of a disaster declaration.
When Republicans ended the disaster declaration with a concurrent resolution in early June, they did nothing to prepare for restaurants to continue these activities – despite knowing the hospitality industry would be harmed.
“The Senate Democratic Caucus is fighting to help the hospitality industry recover from the past year of hardship,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa. “And we’re hopeful that the Senate Republicans will join us – instead of capitalizing on the pain of the small business community.”
Instead of passing House Bill 1154, which enjoyed bipartisan support in the House and Senate, Senate Republicans added a political amendment to privatize our liquor system – with no hearings or expert testimony.
“Republicans continue to politicize the tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic, and frankly I think Pennsylvanians are fed up of their talking points,” said Senator Wayne D. Fontana. “They campaigned hard to end the disaster declaration and misled folks on what that meant. Many restrictions were already ended, but their hasty and partisan end to the declaration is hurting small business owners.”
Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus will introduce amendments and a new bill to permanently enshrine the permissions granted under the COVID-19 disaster declaration, without tying this aid to partisan tricks.
The amendments will continue the following emergency permissions:
- Mixed drinks to go
- Ability to sell in contiguous areas outside of the licensed premises
- Increase in the wholesale discount from 10% to 15%
- Allow an unlimited number of off premise catering permits
- Waive safekeeping fees
- Ability for closing restaurants and taverns to sell their liquor inventory to other liquor licensees
“Since July of last year, I have been asking my Republican colleagues to support these measures,” said Senator Jim Brewster. “I keep hearing from restaurants and taverns in my district that they want these things to continue. They’re tired of excuses from Harrisburg; there’s no reason we can’t get this done for them.”
“The hospitality industry has been decimated over the past 15 months, and this immense hardship transcends all party lines and allegiances. Workers and small businesses are still reeling from the pandemic and need, and deserve, our support,” said Senator Nikil Saval. “These amendments will benefit people and communities throughout our Commonwealth that these businesses sustain, and simultaneously allow for the continued reimagining of how residents get to experience our streets and communal spaces.”
These amendments are in addition to the New Deal for Pennsylvania plan that the caucus put forth in May, which includes $2.47 billion in spending of the state’s allocation from the American Rescue Plan for people-focused recovery, including business assistance, job training and workforce development.
More information on the New Deal proposal can be found at pasenate.com/newdeal
Previously, the Senate Democrats fought for and secured $145 million in assistance for the hospitality industry in the form of grants in January of 2021, paid for with federal funding from the CARES Act.
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