October 17, 2011
By a vote of 37-13, the Senate passed a bill giving the governor broad powers to take over the finances of the City of Harrisburg after the city’s refusal to accept a state-advised Act 47 recovery plan. Senate Bill 1151 allows the governor to declare a fiscal...
September 26, 2011
The Senate voted 42 to 7 for legislation that provides passenger limits for junior drivers. Under House Bill 9, for the first six months after the issuance of the junior driver’s license, the junior driver may not drive with more than one passenger under the age of 18...
September 19, 2011
The Senate unanimously approved legislation that provides for the registration, licensing and use of the Pennsylvania Preferred Trademark. Since 2004, the Pennsylvania Preferred program has been used to identify and promote Pennsylvania grown, harvested and processed...
July 18, 2011
By a 45-5 vote, the Senate passed legislation expanding the provision of the so-called “Castle Doctrine” that protects the right of homeowners to use deadly force against intruders in their home and property. Under previous law, homeowners were able to use deadly...
June 26, 2011
In a 30-20 party line vote, the Senate passed a controversial fiscal 2011-12 spending plan that imposes massive cuts on schools, health care services, job creations programs and critical services for many of the state’s most vulnerable citizens. The state’s $27.15...
June 21, 2011
The Senate unanimously concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 1030, a compromise that enabled more than 130,000 laid off workers to continue to collect unemployment benefits. The measure also makes key reforms to the unemployment compensation system. The bill...
