Dear Neighbor, I hope you are well! I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on several happenings in the district as well as Harrisburg. 

As always, I hope you find this informative and useful.

Legislation Update

Last week I introduced a new bill, H.B. 1963, with two of my colleagues, state Reps. Chris Pielli and Dan Miller. This bill, titled Veterans Death Certificates, would amend the state’s Vital Statistics Law to explicitly state that spouses of veterans are entitled to receive veteran’s preference death certificates. While there has been a long-standing practice of waiving death certificate fees for the spouses of veterans, it wasn’t officially law. This bill would simply cement the practice into law. To see all the bills I’ve introduced this session, you can visit my website and click on “My Legislation” for more information.

I also recently added my name to co-sponsor a few bills from my colleagues. House Bill 1607, Electronic Waster Recycling Program, introduced by state Rep. Lisa Borowski, would allow all counties within Pennsylvania to participate in an e-waste recycling collection program that would be accrue no cost to residents or their municipalities. Electronic waste has grown monumentally over the past decade, taking up space in both landfills and in our homes. This program would provide a better way of disposing e-waste properly and safely.  

House Bills 1756 and 1757, Absentee Ballots and Voter Access for Incarcerated Individuals, is a bill package that would permit all registered individuals in correctional institutions to be eligible to vote by absentee ballot and create a policy for civic voter education in correctional institutions throughout the state. The ability to vote for public officeholders is a right that should be protected, not denied due to circumstances. Disenfranchisement of any kind is undemocratic, so I’m proud to support this legislation.

Gun Reform Legislation Passes Out of Committee

Last week in Harrisburg, the House Judiciary Committee met and advanced a package of five gun safety bills that address ghost guns, assault weapons, and mental health reporting. These bills were approved and successfully voted out of committee. The bill package includes:

H.B. 335, Ban on Multi-Burst Trigger Activators

Would add “multi-burst trigger activators” to the list of banned offensive weapons under current law in Pennsylvania.

H.B. 336, Banning Future Sales of Assault Weapons

Would ban all future sales of assault weapons in Pennsylvania. Exceptions include all members of the U.S. Armed Forces, Reserve, National Guard, or law enforcement while performing and traveling to and from official duties. This legislation would not impact a person in lawful ownership of these weapons prior to the date of the enforcement of this law.

H.B. 777, Banning “Ghost Gun” Parts

Would close loopholes by prohibiting the purchase, sale, and production of untraceable gun parts.

H.B. 1157, Mental Health Reporting Requirements

Would reduce the timeframe for when a judge must notify state police of a mental health record that prohibits firearm possession from 7 days to 72 to 96 hours.

H.B. 1190, 3D Printed Firearms

Would prohibit anyone from 3D printing a firearm without a license from the federal government to manufacture firearms.

Targeted legislation like these gun safety bills will go a long way to reduce gun violence, gun suicide, and accidental gun deaths in Pennsylvania. These bills will now be reported to the House Floor where they will go before the full body for debate and a vote. I will keep you updated on these bills in the coming months. If you have questions about this legislation, please send an email to [email protected].

Upper Providence Blood Drive 

Upper Providence Township Police and Fire/EMS are holding a Blood Drive with the Red Cross! Save a life by giving blood on Jan. 30 at the Upper Providence Township Building. The event will be from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., but you must register first and sign up for a time slot first.

For more information on the event and how to sign up, visit uprov-montco.org.

Your Way Home has new Phone Number

Starting on Feb. 1, Your Way Home will launch a new phone number and call center through the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services to provide a more direct expertise and response to residents experiencing homelessness. The new helpline for people to call will be 610-278-3522 where you will be connected to a Coordinated Entry Specialist.

Please note that after Feb. 1, United Way of Southeastern PA’s 2-1-1 call center will no longer be the Coordinated Entry provider for Your Way Home.

You can read Montgomery County’s press release regarding the update here.

Please continue to stay safe, healthy and well-informed.

And, if you have questions about any state-related issue, please contact my office at 484-200-8263 or email [email protected]. If you wish to unsubscribe to this email, please scroll to the bottom where it says “visit this page to manage your email preferences".

Sincerely,

Rep. Joe Webster
State Representative
150th Legislative District

Pennsylvania House Democrats are committed to ensuring better jobs, better schools and better communities for all Pennsylvanians. More information on these successful efforts is at pahouse.com/deliveringforpa.

PA House of Representatives Democratic Caucus
PO Box 202250 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2250

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