A new plan set in motion on Monday could shake loose a constitutional amendment to enact universal photograph identification to vote.
House Republican leadership said letting the bill languish in committee ignores the popularity of the policy among voters, especially those anxious about election security.
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Incarcerated Pennsylvanias regain their right to vote after release, but Democratic state representatives worry they don’t vote enough, so they advanced legislation on Monday addressing the issue.
Voting 12-9 along party lines, Pennsylvania’s House State Government Committee approved Representative Carol Kazeem’s (D-Chester) resolution to study ex-prisoner election participation. After the Joint State Government Commission completes its research, officials would use the the information gathered to develop policies to aid former inmates’ resumption of voting.
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Pennsylvania Senator Lindsey Wiliams (D-Pittsburgh) is preparing to reintroduce a bill to instruct the state’s chief legislative clerks to post all lawmakers’ taxpayer-funded expenses online.
In a memorandum asking fellow senators to cosponsor her measure, Williams mentioned that she and some other legislators provide online access to may of their public expenditures. Her own website contains a page linking to monthly expense reports. Spending listed includes such items as lodging and office event expenses.
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State Representative Brad Roae (R-PA-Meadville) this week proposed legislation to permit small businesses to continue operating during potential future states of emergency in Pennsylvania.
His bill, a version of a measure he sponsored in 2020, would permit small businesses to serve one customer at a time during such periods. The earlier legislation passed the House with nearly all Republicans and some Democrats in support but the Senate did not vote on it.
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