Newsroom

Costa Comments on Death of Sen. Mike Waugh

Harrisburg - Oct. 8, 2014 - State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) expressed his thoughts on the death of former Sen. Mike Waugh of York County. Senator Waugh served as a member of the General Assembly for more than 20 years. "Today Pennsylvania is mourning the loss of a...

Costa Applauds Passage of Legislation Legalizing Medical Marijuana

Harrisburg – Sept. 24, 2014 – State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) released the following the statement on the Senate's passage of Senate Bill 1182, the Medical Cannabis Act. Costa’s statement is as follows: “Senate Bill 1182 opens the door to a new course of treatment...

Corbett’s Action on Budget Illustrates Republican Dysfunction

Harrisburg – July 10, 2014 – Members of Senate Democratic Leadership issued the following statements concerning Gov. Tom Corbett’s line-item veto of funding for the General Assembly and his renewed call for lawmakers to consider pension reform: Senate Democratic...

Costa Slams Corbett Budget as Shallow and Insincere

Harrisburg – June 30, 2014 – State Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, (D-Allegheny) slammed Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget for Fiscal Year 2014-15 as “remarkably shallow and incredibly insincere because it manages to underfund schools, job creation and human services while being balanced by unsustainable budget gimmicks, rosy revenue projections, accounting tricks and fund transfers.

Costa Issues Statement on the UPMC-Highmark Agreement

Harrisburg – June 27, 2014 – State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) released the following statement concerning the UPMC-Highmark transition agreement. The agreement specifies care options that will be available to health-care consumers in Western Pennsylvania beginning...

Costa’s Pooled Trust Bill Passes Senate

Harrisburg – June 17, 2014 – Legislation authored by the Democratic leader of the Senate, Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), which would improve how pooled trusts are administered, has been approved by the state Senate. “The measure changes the calculation of how funds are...

Costa to Host Live Telephone Town Hall on June 10

Harrisburg – June 6, 2014 – State Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) will be hosting a live interactive Teletown Hall for constituents on Tuesday, June 10 at 7:05 p.m. “This is the first time that I will be hosting a telephone town hall and I am excited about using this...

Costa Comments on Corbett’s Decision to Drop Voter ID Appeal

Harrisburg – May 8, 2014 – State Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) released the following statement following the Corbett administration’s announcement that they would not appeal the court decision which struck down Pennsylvania’s controversial...

Costa Issues Statement on the Death of Sen. Ray Musto

Harrisburg – April 24, 2014 – Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) issued the following statement on the death of former Sen. Ray Musto. Musto served in the Senate from 1982 to 2010 representing Luzerne, Carbon and Monroe Counties. Musto began his career...

Senate Democrats Deride Gov’s Budget as Election-Year Pandering

Harrisburg, February 4, 2014 – Senate Democratic leaders today called Gov. Tom Corbett’s 2014-15 budget proposal election-year pandering and woefully lacking on multiple levels. “The governor really needs to stop promising and start delivering for Pennsylvania.”...

Senate Democrats Press Corbett on Human Services Funding Failures

PITTSBURGH, January 30, 2014 – Flanked by people who have struggled due to state human services budget cuts, Senate Democrats today detailed their budget priorities and challenged Gov. Tom Corbett to produce a spending plan that is aligned with the needs of...

Costa Pleased that Court Strikes Voter ID Law

Harrisburg – Jan. 17, 2013 – Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) issued the following reaction to Commonwealth Court’s rejection of the controversial voter ID law. The law required all voters to produce approved photo identification prior to casting their...

Gov. Heeds Democratic Call to Drop Lottery Privatization Plan

Harrisburg – Dec. 30, 2013 – Gov. Tom Corbett’s decision to discontinue his attempt to privatize the state Lottery is good news for Pennsylvania taxpayers and it aligns with repeated Senate Democratic calls for him to drop the plan and stop wasting resources, Senate...

Sen. Costa Testifies at Healthy PA Hearing

The following are Sen. Costa's remarks at the Healthy PA hearing in Pittsburgh on Dec. 20: Thank you very much for providing me the opportunity to discuss Gov. Corbett’s Healthy PA plan. This is an important initiative and I am pleased to convey my thoughts about...

Child Protection Legislative Package Clears Senate, Costa Says

Harrisburg – December 12, 2013 – A legislative package designed to help prevent child abuse and increase protections for children has now cleared the Senate and is headed to the governor for approval, according to Senate Democratic Leader, Sen. Jay Costa...

Senate Democrats Announce Legislative Plan for Veterans

Harrisburg – November 19, 2013 – At a Capitol news conference today, Senate Democrats outlined a comprehensive package of legislation designed to help veterans and their families deal with issues as they return to civilian life from military service. According to...

General Assembly Launches New Website

HARRISBURG – A completely revamped version of the General Assembly’s website was launched this morning to give the public better access to a wide array of legislative information, including bill text and history, votes in the Senate and the House, committee meetings...

Senate Democrats’ Small Games Plan Now Backed by Governor

Harrisburg – October 24, 2013 – State Senate Democrats said today they were pleased that Gov. Tom Corbett has now signaled his approval of their plan to direct revenues generated from small games of chance in taverns to the Lottery Fund. The Democratic plan would bolster lottery programs and create a potential funding source for a property tax freeze benefitting seniors.