Sen. Tracy Pennycuick

Maddy summarySB 862 updates Pennsylvania's process for filling vacant borough council seats. If a borough council fails to appoint a replacement within 30 days of a vacancy, a special board (composed of council members and one community member) must fill the seat within 15 days. If the board cannot act, it must petition a court to appoint a resident to serve until the next municipal election occurring more than 60 days after the vacancy. This affects boroughs by ensuring vacancies are resolved promptly to maintain full council representation.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes adding a 10% sales and use tax on online subscriptions to sexually explicit commercial content in Pennsylvania. It defines taxable content as digital images or videos depicting sexual acts intended for sexual arousal, while excluding material with serious literary, artistic, or educational value. The tax would be collected by vendors at the time of purchase and would require online platforms to register with the state even if they do not have a physical presence in Pennsylvania. The revenue generated would go to the state's General Fund as nonmotor vehicle tax revenue, and the law would take effect on July 1, 2027.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Pennsylvania's Tax Reform Code to exclude tips from taxable personal income. It directly affects employees who receive tips, such as restaurant and hospitality workers, by removing these earnings from their taxable income calculations. The legislation defines tips as voluntary customer payments and explicitly excludes employer-mandated fees or service charges from this exclusion. The Department of Revenue will create regulations to implement the change and prevent fraud or misclassification of wages as tips. The law takes effect 60 days after passage and applies to the next fiscal year following that date.

Maddy summarySB 1211 amends Pennsylvania's Insurance Company Law of 1921 to require casualty insurance policies to cover biomarker testing for medical assistance and Children's Health Insurance Program enrollees. The bill defines medical assistance and CHIP managed care plans as health care plans that use gatekeepers to manage services, explicitly including biomarker testing in this definition. This change ensures that insurance coverage for these specific health services is standardized under state law, subject to necessary federal approval. The legislation takes effect 60 days after passage.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution designates April 4, 2026, as "School Librarian Day" in Pennsylvania to honor school librarians and their contributions to education. The measure recognizes the role librarians play in providing students with access to educational resources and teaching media literacy skills. It highlights the importance of school libraries in fostering reading appreciation and academic success while acknowledging the declining number of librarians in Pennsylvania schools. The resolution serves as a symbolic acknowledgment of the profession rather than enacting new policy requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Pennsylvania's Professional Psychologists Practice Act to update definitions and expand the powers of the State Board of Psychology. It primarily affects licensed psychologists by clarifying what constitutes the practice of psychology and establishing new categories for those who hold prescription certificates. Key provisions include defining collaborative relationships between prescribing psychologists and primary care providers, setting standards for prescribing controlled substances, and outlining procedures for license suspension or revocation. The legislation also clarifies definitions for terms like "prescription certificate" and "controlled substance" to ensure consistent regulatory oversight.

Maddy summarySB 899 amends the state's Controlled Substance Act to update the schedules of controlled substances, classifying specific drugs into categories based on their medical use and potential for abuse. It directly affects pharmacies, healthcare providers, law enforcement, and patients who handle or prescribe these substances by changing their legal classifications. The bill's key mechanism involves modifying the existing schedule lists to reflect current medical knowledge and drug usage patterns, without adding new penalties or creating new regulatory requirements. This update ensures the scheduling framework aligns with current scientific understanding and medical practice.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution designates October 13, 2026, as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Pennsylvania to raise visibility for a specific stage of breast cancer. The measure does not create new laws or funding but serves as a symbolic gesture to honor patients and families affected by the disease. It highlights the need for increased research and equitable care access while aligning with national awareness efforts that use teal, green, and pink ribbon colors. The resolution is non-binding and focuses on public recognition rather than implementing policy changes.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a Veterans' Trust Fund in Pennsylvania by adding fees collected from paid veterans' claims assistance providers and directs those funds to support grants for veterans' service officer programs. It establishes new registration and disclosure requirements for individuals and organizations that charge fees to help veterans with benefits claims, requiring them to register annually and provide clear written information about their services and compensation to veterans before working with them. The law exempts government employees, accredited representatives from recognized veterans' organizations, and nonprofit groups from these requirements while maintaining existing protections for free assistance sources.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Pennsylvania's tax code to establish a new Innovate in PA tax credit program that allows qualified taxpayers to purchase tax credits to offset their insurance premiums tax liability. The program authorizes the sale of up to $350 million in tax credits, with a specific $200 million allocation for credits available starting in 2030, and requires that sales generate at least $200 million in revenue to proceed. Funds collected from these tax credit sales will be distributed to support life science research facilities, recruitment of researchers, and workforce development partnerships between companies and educational institutions. The legislation also defines key terms, sets rules for carrying over unused tax credits to future years, and establishes reporting requirements for the program's administration.