
Sponsored Legislation
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa circulated Co-Sponsorship Memoranda for bills he intends to introduce for the 2025-26 Legislative Session.
Those memoranda include:
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Electric Shock Drowning Prevention (with Senator Camera Bartolotta)
- Restoring Dental Coverage for Medical Assistance Recipients
- Use of Political Action Committee Residual Funds
- Improvements to the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act
- Divestiture and Investment Prohibition from Assault Weapon Manufacturers
- Inclusion of the Judiciary Under the Whistleblower Act
Campaign Finance Reform
This legislation will address the excessive corporate influence in our political system, remove the opportunity to take personal advantage of campaign contributions, and protect the integrity and fairness of our electoral process.
Electric Shock Drowning Prevention (with Senator Camera Bartolotta)
This legislation that will help prevent electric shock drowning. Electric Shock Drowning (ESD) is the result of the passage of a typically low-level AC current through the body with sufficient force to cause skeletal-muscular paralysis, rendering the victim unable to help themself while immersed in fresh water, eventually resulting in drowning of the victim.
Restoring Dental Coverage for Medical Assistance Recipients
This legislation seeks to restore dental coverage for Medical Assistance recipients. This bill ensures that, moving forward, Medical Assistance provides a dental benefit package that includes those coverages that existed before cuts made in 2011 without removing any existing dental coverage.
Use of Political Action Committee Residual Funds
Under current law, the Election Code requires that the funds remaining in the account of a terminated PAC can only be used for campaign expenses or distributed back to campaign donors. This legislation would provide a third opportunity by allowing for money to be donated to non-profit organizations.
Improvements to the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act
This legislation would ensure that violators of the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act are held accountable by prohibiting them to continue bidding on future public works projects.
Divestiture and Investment Prohibition from Assault Weapon Manufacturers
This bill will require divestiture and prohibit future investments by the Public School Employees’ Retirement
System (PSERS), the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS), the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System (PMRS), and the State Treasurer in any company that manufactures assault weapons (such as the AR-15), large capacity ammunition feeding devices, or assault weapon accessories (such as bump stocks).
Inclusion of the Judiciary Under the Whistleblower Act
This bill would provide the same whistleblower protections to court employees that are currently afforded to all other public-sector employees in the Commonwealth.
Veterans’ Disability Payments Exemptions
This legislation seeks to remove veterans’ disability payments from income eligibility under Section 1901 of the Vehicle Code. Specifically, this bill would amend 1901(c) to add any person who is a disabled veteran receiving disability benefits and whose total annual income does not exceed $19,200.