HARRISBURG – January 29, 2021 – Members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus wrote U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging an investigation into the “traitorous and seditious acts” against the U.S. Constitution by U.S. Rep. Scott Perry.
“This is not a request we make lightly, but the circumstances of Mr. Perry’s actions warrant this step,” the senators wrote in their letter to Speaker Pelosi. “We implore you to open an investigation into Mr. Perry and, if warranted, expel him from the United States House of Representatives.”
The New York Times broke the story that Perry had been instrumental in connecting an assistant U.S. attorney general with former President Donald Trump to contest 2020 Election results without any proof of fraud. Scores of Republicans across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the U.S. have made baseless claims to undermine the election, however the senators believe Perry’s attempt to abuse power are a step too far:
“Mr. Perry, along with many other federal, state and local Republicans, has pushed baseless and dangerous theories about a “stolen” or “fraudulent” election. Worse than simply pushing the claims of election fraud that led to the insurrection of January 6, 2021, are Mr. Perry’s actions to aid and abet an unelected official within the United States Justice Department to use the power of a federal agency to force a state to change their allotment of their Electoral simply because he does not like the outcome.”
Click here to read the full letter to Speaker Pelosi.
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Pittsburgh, Pa. – January 22, 2021 − Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa released the following statement regarding Governor Tom Wolf’s nomination of Alison Beam to be the new Acting Secretary of Health.
I wish Alison Beam the best as she takes on the position of acting Secretary of Health here in PA. She has big shoes to fill, but her strong background in health care program management and project rollout is going to be invaluable as we work to get vaccines to every Pennsylvanian in the coming weeks. Her broad-based experiences in health-related agencies in the Commonwealth will enable her to serve us all well in this new role. Previously, she has served in high level positions with Human Services, Drug & Alcohol Programs, Aging and Insurance, as well as the Office of Advocacy and Reform.
She did an excellent job introducing our statewide insurance exchange, Pennie, in its first year and I have no doubt she will create similar success with the COVID vaccine distribution.
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Harrisburg, Pa. – January 19, 2021 – Again this session, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa is seeking cosponsors for comprehensive campaign finance reform legislation.
“Pennsylvania is one of the most poorly regulated states as it relates to campaign finance laws,” said Senator Costa. “Now more than ever, we need to do more to restore faith in government and that can come from increased transparency and less money infecting our processes. I am hopeful that this year, the legislation will garner bipartisan support.”
Senator Costa will introduce a bill similar to what he has proposed in previous sessions to address comprehensive campaign finance reform, but with several additions based on feedback from constituents and recent media reports.
The bill will address independent expenditures by incorporated entities. The Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010 has made independent expenditures a leading campaign finance issue in many states. The so-called “uncoordinated” and “independent” political expenditures now permitted by incorporated entities under this decision should be treated in a similar manner as PAC expenditures for reporting purposes. Connecticut and Maryland both have recently enacted legislation regarding this issue.
Senate Bill 11 will address corporate shareholder approval of political activity. The bill will require approval by the majority of shareholders when corporations make political contributions that exceed $10,000. Also included would be a provision requiring corporations to notify shareholders of any political/campaign activity.
The bill amends the Election Code to limit the expenditures of a candidate, political committee, political action committee, political party committee or other person;.the proposed limits are as follows, and are within the middle of limits imposed by other states.
Lastly, media reports have shown examples of the use of credit cards and gift cards by campaign committees. This expenditure method is clearly used to obscure how political action committee money is being used from public view. In many cases, the expenses may be crossing the line into personal use, but because it is difficult or impossible to see what the expense are, there is no accountability. To that end, the new legislation will require credit card statements to be filed with campaign finance reports, ban the purchase of gift cards with PAC money, and define “personal purpose.”
“The people deserve to be fully informed about a candidate’s financial backers,” Costa said. “My bill would restore the people’s confidence that their elections are not bought and paid for by corporate entities, neither domestic nor foreign.”
View More information on the bill →
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Harrisburg, Pa. − January 15, 2021 − Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa today announced the slate of Democratic chairs and members for the Senate’s standing committees in the 2021-22 legislative session.
“Our caucus is diverse in every way – from demographics to professional background, and the senators are uniquely qualified to tackle the breadth of issues that come through our standing committees and onto the Senate floor,” said Senator Costa. “I’m proud to announce this slate of chairs and committee members, and look forward to their collective work in this session.”
The Democratic chairs will be (listed alphabetically by committee), members listed below in italics:
- Aging & Youth: Maria Collett (Chair)
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- John Sabatina, Nikil Saval, Judy Schwank
- Agriculture & Rural Affairs: Judy Schwank (Chair)
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- Amanda Cappelletti, Carolyn Comitta, Sharif Street
- Appropriations: Vincent Hughes (Chair)
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- Judy Schwank, Jay Costa (ex officio), John Blake, Art Haywood, Tim Kearney, Steve Santarsiero, Nikil Saval, Sharif Street
- Banking & Insurance: Sharif Street (Chair)
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- Lisa Boscola, Jim Brewster, Amanda Cappelletti, Tina Tartaglione
- Communications & Technology: John Kane (Chair)
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- John Sabatina, Nikil Saval, Anthony H. Williams
- Community, Economic & Recreational Development: Amanda Cappelletti (Chair)
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- Lisa Boscola, Maria Collett, Wayne Fontana, John Sabatina
- Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure: Lisa Boscola (Chair)
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- Carolyn Comitta, John Kane, Steve Santarsiero, Tina Tartaglione
- Education: Lindsey Williams (Chair)
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- John Blake, Jim Brewster, Tim Kearney
- Environmental Resources & Energy: Carolyn Comitta (Chair)
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- Lisa Boscola, Katie Muth, Steve Santarsiero
- Finance: John Blake (Chair)
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- Art Haywood, Vincent Hughes, Katie Muth
- Game & Fisheries: James Brewster (Chair)
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- Wayne Fontana, Judy Schwank, Lindsey Williams
- Health & Human Services: Art Haywood (Chair)
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- Amanda Cappelletti, Carolyn Comitta, Judy Schwank
- Intergovernmental Operations: Anthony Williams (Chair)
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- Jay Costa, Art Haywood, Steve Santarsiero
- Judiciary: Steve Santarsiero (Chair)
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- Amanda Cappelletti, Maria Collett, Art Haywood, John Sabatina
- Labor & Industry: Christine Tartaglione (Chair)
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- John Kane, Tim Kearney, Lindsey Williams
- Law & Justice: James Brewster (Chair)
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- Wayne Fontana, Tina Tartaglione, Anthony H. Williams
- Local Government: Tim Kearney (Chair)
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- Maria Collett, Nikil Saval, Sharif Street
- Rules & Executive Nominations: Jay Costa (Chair)
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- Maria Collett, Wayne Fontana, Vincent Hughes, Katie Muth, Anthony H. Williams
- State Government: Sharif Street (Chair)
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- John Blake, Katie Muth, Anthony H. Williams
- Transportation: John Sabatina, Jr. (Chair)
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- John Blake, Jim Brewster, John Kane, Tim Kearney
- Urban Affairs & Housing: Nikil Saval (Chair)
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- Lisa Boscola, Wayne Fontana, Lindsey Williams
- Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness: Katie Muth (Chair)
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- Carolyn Comitta, John Kane, Lindsey Williams
For more information on all members of the Senate Democratic Caucus and their work in the legislature and home districts, please visit pasenate.com
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Pittsburgh, Pa. — January 12, 2021 — Statement from Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa:
“Tomorrow morning, I am looking forward to joining Senator Jim Brewster in Harrisburg for his swearing in ceremony. I want to thank Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman for setting this up so quickly following the federal court ruling today. I speak for Senator Brewster and all of the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus in saying that we look forward to getting to work on behalf of all of our constituents in this legislative session.”
Pittsburgh, Pa. — January 12, 2021 — Today, U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan issued a ruling in favor of seating the rightful winner of the 45th senatorial district – Senator Jim Brewster, and upholding the counting of ballots as certified by the Department of State.
“I want to thank Judge Ranjan for his thoughtful and well-reasoned decision on the merits of this case,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa. “My colleague Senator Brewster won more votes, affirmed that victory in state courts, and had it confirmed by the Pennsylvania Department of State. He’s been declared the winner more times and in more ways than should be necessary, but I believe that the matter is now unequivocally settled. I look forward to Senator Brewster’s swearing in ceremony and watching him take the oath of office I know he will faithfully abide every day of his service.”
Judge Ranjan’s ruling states, “The Court’s fundamental disagreement is with Ms. Ziccarelli’s interpretation of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision. Contrary to Ms. Ziccarelli’s reading, the Court finds that the Supreme Court expressly held that the undated ballots at issue remain valid ballots that are properly counted under state law.”
Similarly, Ms. Ziccarelli claims that her substantive due process rights have been violated because the “rules have changed,” i.e., the “rule” before the election was to not count undated ballots, but Defendants changed the rules by counting and certifying those ballots. Not so.”
Given these distinctions, the Court does not find that the facts of Ms. Ziccarelli’s case present anything resembling the sort of conscience-shocking behavior that is required to show a due-process violation.”
In sum, the correct interpretation of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision on Ms. Ziccarelli’s state-court appeal is that the challenged ballots are valid and may properly be counted. This causes Ms. Ziccarelli’s federal claims to fail on the merits.”
This is in line with the decision by Allegheny County’s Election Board to certify the results of this race, and the decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which upheld the counting of ballots – and ultimately, the decision of the Department of State to certify the results.
“Today we can celebrate Jim Brewster’s win, but the real winner is democracy,” said Senator Costa. “Our judicial system at both the state and federal level upheld the decision of our voters, just as it was intended to. Congratulations to Senator Brewster on concluding this arduous campaign, congratulations to the voters who made their voices heard, and to all of the voters who will participate in elections to come – knowing that their vote will matter.”
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Download copy of the opinion.
