Rep. Joe Webster

Maddy summaryHB 773 (Pennsylvania House Bill 773, 2025) provides free tuition for school board members at Pennsylvania's state-funded higher education institutions. It directly affects school board members serving on public school districts within Pennsylvania, allowing them to enroll in approved courses related to their board duties at no tuition cost. The bill requires school boards to identify and maintain a list of eligible courses every three years, mandates annual reporting by institutions on enrollment, and requires the state legislature to appropriate funds by June 30 each year to reimburse schools for waived tuition. This policy change creates a state-funded reimbursement system for tuition costs, effective June 1, 2026.

Maddy summaryHB 753 amends Pennsylvania's criminal code to better protect human trafficking victims during legal proceedings. It creates an automatic affirmative defense for victims convicted of crimes like prostitution (§ 5902), theft (§ 3922), or drug possession when those crimes resulted directly from trafficking. Victims can also file motions to vacate convictions for these specific offenses by submitting written proof, evidence, and notifying prosecutors. Courts must grant such motions if victims prove by a preponderance of evidence that their conviction stemmed from being trafficked, without requiring prior prosecution of the trafficker. This directly affects individuals previously convicted of trafficking-related offenses who were victims themselves.

Maddy summaryHB 772 amends Pennsylvania's Public School Code to update rules for suspending and expelling students. It directly affects public school students, particularly those under 8 years old in pre-kindergarten and elementary programs. The bill sets a 10-day limit for excluding students from in-person learning without a hearing and prohibits suspending or expelling children under 8 unless they pose an immediate threat of harm to others. These changes apply to all public schools and publicly funded pre-K programs across Pennsylvania.

Maddy summaryHB 776 requires Pennsylvania high school students to score at least 60% on a civic knowledge assessment to graduate or earn a general equivalency diploma, starting in the 2028-2029 school year. The bill amends the Public School Code to add this graduation requirement, which applies to all students except those with an individualized education program (IEP) if their IEP specifies an exemption. The assessment measures knowledge of civic topics like government structure and citizenship. This policy directly affects all Pennsylvania public high school students seeking graduation or a general equivalency diploma.

Maddy summaryHB 790 requires Pennsylvania hospitals with emergency departments to provide abortion services when an individual has an emergency medical condition that necessitates an abortion to stabilize their health. This applies to all hospitals in the state with emergency departments, directly affecting those facilities and the patients seeking emergency care. The bill defines "emergency medical condition" to include life-threatening situations like ectopic pregnancy, preeclampsia, or complications from pregnancy loss, requiring hospitals to offer the service unless the patient or their legal representative refuses after being informed of risks and benefits. Hospitals must take reasonable steps to secure written consent for refusal to ensure compliance. The law takes effect 60 days after enactment.

Maddy summaryHB 782 prohibits Pennsylvania electric utilities from including lobbying or political activities in their rate base, meaning these costs cannot be passed on to customers through utility rates. It requires utilities with over 75,000 customers to file annual reports detailing all lobbying and political spending, including employee hours, third-party vendor payments, and specific expense breakdowns. The bill also states that advertising expenses can only be recovered if the utility demonstrates they are reasonable and meet defined criteria. This legislation directly affects large electric utilities operating in Pennsylvania.

Maddy summaryHB 768 amends Pennsylvania's Public School Code to allow school directors (elected or appointed members of school boards) to receive compensation for their service, which was previously prohibited. School boards can approve pay through a resolution at a regular meeting, but the amount must match compensation limits for similar local elected roles (like city council members) in the district's municipality or the median of such limits if the district spans multiple municipalities. The bill also updates the required oath of office for school directors to align with current standards. This change directly affects all school directors in Pennsylvania's public school districts.

Maddy summaryHB 769 requires Pennsylvania public schools (excluding fully online cyber charters) to provide dedicated physical space for libraries or information centers and maintain a library collection of at least 1,000 items per grade served, including print and nonprint materials like audio-visual equipment, starting in the 2026-2027 school year. The State Board of Education will establish building standards for library spaces and review these requirements every ten years. School boards must design spaces following the State Board's guidance, and the Secretary of Education can deny approval for construction projects that fail to meet the standards. This bill amends the Public School Code to ensure schools have adequate library resources for student learning.

Maddy summaryHB 739 amends Pennsylvania's 1951 Professional Nursing Law to modernize terminology and clarify roles for advanced practice nurses. It replaces "certified registered nurse practitioner" with "APRN-CNP" throughout the law, defines "collaboration" requirements for new APRN-CNPs (requiring 3,600 practice hours before independent work), and updates definitions for "medical nutrition therapy" and "population focus areas." The bill explicitly removes the State Board of Nursing's authority to license APRN-CNPs, shifting that responsibility elsewhere. These changes directly affect registered nurses seeking advanced practice certification and the Board's regulatory role in nursing licensure.

Maddy summaryHB 726 requires Pennsylvania public, charter, private, and parochial schools to report their current and predicted capital infrastructure needs through a one-time survey. This includes costs related to physical buildings, digital systems, pandemic-related sanitation measures (like air filtration and PPE), and deferred projects since January 2020. The Department of Education will compile these reports into a detailed statewide summary for the General Assembly, specifying actual costs incurred and projected needs through the 2027-2028 school year. The bill does not allocate funding but creates a data foundation for future budget decisions. It directly affects all school entities operating within Pennsylvania.