Action to Address Worker Wages First Step on Long Road to Equity

By State Senator Vincent Hughes

Frustrated by years of resistance from legislative Republicans to raise worker wages, Gov. Tom Wolf announced plans to lift the state’s salary threshold below which Pennsylvania salaried workers automatically receive overtime pay.   The governor’s action is hard on the heels of efforts by my colleagues and I to address worker pay and make our wage and salary system equitable.

Supreme Court Decision Throwing Out the Congressional Maps Is a Good Start

Op-ed by State Senator Lisa Boscola

Since my first experience with map drawing back in 2001, it was apparent that partisanship plays too large a role in our redistricting effort.  The recent decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court discarding the congressional maps merely serves to reaffirm this position.

The General Assembly has long had the tools to fix the issue once and for all by taking the politics out of map drawing.  It is why I am a proud prime sponsor of SB 22.  This legislation provides for the creation of an independent commission to draw our lines every 10 years.  This has never been a partisan issue for me, but a practical one.