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The Weekly Roundup
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The latest news from the State Capitol
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EPA to Hold Public Meeting on AZR Report
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scheduled a public meeting next week to provide residents of the Palmerton area with information related to the recent health report conducted near the American Zinc Recycling (AZR) plant. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 7-9 p.m. at the Aquashicola Volunteer Fire Company, 270 Little Gap Road in Lower Towamensing Township. This is your chance to get details on the report and ask questions to federal and state officials.
In a related matter, I have requested that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection expand its air quality monitoring program at the AZR facility. You can read the letter here.
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Empowering Victims of Sexual Abuse
I joined a majority of my House colleagues this week in passing legislation that would empower victims of sexual abuse by eliminating the criminal statute of limitations for prosecutions of sexual abuse of minors and extending the civil statute of limitations for lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of minors until the victim reaches 50 years of age. The bill would also waive sovereign and governmental immunity for claims.
Senate Bill 261, which now goes back to the Senate for concurrence, includes several of the recommendations outlined by the state attorney general. Another one of the recommendations – which would increase penalties for mandated reporters who continue to fail to report suspected child abuse – was reported out of committee on Wednesday.
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Battling Opioids
On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to discuss our efforts to address Pennsylvania’s drug crisis at a media event sponsored by the state’s public TV and radio stations. The stations are collaborating to produce educational programming that focuses on the opioid epidemic and its impact. You can watch a video of the event here. My remarks can be found at the 17-minute mark.
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Organizations Given Option of Carrying EpiPens
To help save lives in emergency situations, the House unanimously approved legislation this week that would allow law enforcement and a variety of organizations and businesses to carry epinephrine auto-injectors, known as EpiPens.
House Bill 126 would permit a number of entities – law enforcement, recreation camps, colleges, universities, day cares, youth sports leagues, amusement parks, restaurants, places of employment and sports arenas – to stock a supply of EpiPens in the event a patron comes in contact with an allergen and has an anaphylactic reaction, which could be fatal.
Under the legislation, a designated employee must receive training in how to recognize signs and symptoms of severe allergic reactions. Immunity would be granted for those who reasonably administer the EpiPen in good faith.
The bill has been sent back to the Senate for agreement.
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New Webpage Dedicated to Unclaimed Military Medals
The Pennsylvania Treasury announced the launch of a new website that reunites military decorations with their rightful owners.
The new search function allows users to search their names, or the name of a loved one, to see if Treasury is holding a military decoration as unclaimed property. In addition, users can look through a photo gallery featuring some of the decorations that are in the unclaimed property vault, as well as medals that have been returned to their rightful owners. Military decorations are often reported to Treasury as contents held in a safe deposit box that has gone unclaimed or abandoned.
Since 2017, Treasury has returned 58 service decorations, some of which have been in Treasury’s custody for decades, including Purple Hearts, to their rightful owners. The department continues to search for the owners of over 500 unclaimed military awards.
Search for unclaimed military decorations here.
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| Office Locations |
| 110 North Third Street, 2nd Floor, Lehighton, PA 18235 | (610) 377-6363 |
| 2681 State Route 903, Unit 3, Albrightsville, PA 18210 | (570) 722-8700 |
| Room 403 Irvis Office Building, PO Box 202122, Harrisburg, PA 17120-2122 | (717) 260-6139 |
| Email: dheffley@pahousegop.com |
| TTY: 855-282-0614 |
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