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| The Barb Wire |
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The latest news from the State Capitol |
Please do not reply directly to this email, as it returns to an unmanned account.
You are welcome to contact me through this link.
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Barb’s Update
I would like to thank everyone who attended our open house last Thursday. More than 100 people stopped by our district office, which is a record turnout. The most prevalent issues we were asked about involved PPL and utilities in general, food processing residuals, land management, and education. We were also asked about federal and local township issues that I was glad to be aware of but would take other contacts to resolve. The high cost of living in our area still remains the number one issue whether it be taxes, utility and trash bills, or housing. Please be patient as we attempt to respond to the many inquiries.
Appropriations hearings on the governor’s budget proposal are happening every day this week. Along with taking notes from those hearings, I also met with Mary Oliveria of the Whitaker Center. She explained that field trips for 2024-25 (completed and booked, including scheduled trips that have not yet occurred) include 37 total trips and 2055 total students and chaperones. They have a full-time biology teacher on staff to help them upgrade their science experience for the public and are looking to renovate sections of the center that have not been touched in three decades.
I had a busy schedule meeting with constituents to resolve individual issues and working to prepare for an education hearing coming up next week. This afternoon, I will join my colleagues on the Policy Committee for another hearing on energy concerns. I will be missing the Country Meats tour tomorrow in Muncy in lieu of an education meeting in Harrisburg.
I also re-introduced House Bill 677 (Parity in Apprenticeship Ratios) which fosters job growth within the Commonwealth.
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Budget Hearings Highlight Need to Grow Pennsylvania’s Economy
Concerns about significant revenue shortfalls and policies that inhibit economic growth in the Commonwealth were the focus of the first day of state budget hearings at the Capitol this week.
Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee questioned officials with the Department of Community and Economic Development about the governor’s failure to support growth in the state’s energy industry in his 2025-26 state budget proposal. They also raised concerns about the proposed minimum wage hike and policies impacting broadband expansion.
Members also questioned Department of Revenue officials about shortfalls in the current year’s budget and said our focus should be on expanding the tax base through growing the economy, rather than the governor’s plan to implement more taxes.
The committee will continue its assessment of the governor’s proposed 2025-26 state spending plan next week at hearings with the Departments of Education, Agriculture, Environmental Protection, State, and Labor and Industry.
The governor proposed a $51.47 billion budget earlier this month, representing a $3.57 billion (7.5%) increase over the current fiscal year. The proposed spending increase is significantly more than the anticipated $1.3 billion revenue increase.
Budget hearings stream live at PABudget.com/livestreams. For a full schedule, along with video and highlights of each completed hearing, click here.
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Pennsylvania Dairy Industry Reaches ‘HPAI-Free’ Status Milestone After Aggressive Milk-Testing, Interstate Cattle Transport Restrictions
Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding recently announced that Pennsylvania’s dairy industry has reached a critical “stage four” milestone granting “HPAI-free” status in the USDA’s National Milk Testing Strategy. This makes Pennsylvania the first major U.S. dairy-producing state to achieve this status. The designation indicates that Pennsylvania’s milk supply has been tested adequately to rule out the presence of the virus in the state’s dairy cattle.
This achievement is the result of months of collaboration among the Department of Agriculture and federal, industry and academic partners. While Pennsylvania is the first major U.S. dairy-producing state to achieve this status, the department will continue testing of bulk milk, due to the lingering disease threats in other states. No infections in dairy cattle or humans have been detected in Pennsylvania to date.
Milk that has been pasteurized is safe to drink. Poultry products and eggs are safe to eat if cooked properly.
In poultry, since February, 2022, the beginning of this outbreak of HPAI, approximately 157 million birds have been lost from 1,554 flocks in every state and Puerto Rico. In that time, 37 commercial flocks, 44 backyard flocks, and nearly seven million birds have been affected in Pennsylvania.
So far this year among domestic birds in Pennsylvania, there have been six affected commercial flocks, six affected backyard flocks, and 2,292,600 birds lost. Pennsylvania remains under a general quarantine to protect the poultry industry from the spread of the virus, and all poultry producers are encouraged to review their biosecurity plans and heighten their biosecurity practices.
The national status of HPAI, state-by-state details, including Pennsylvania domestic poultry and backyard bird locations that have been confirmed to have HPAI in a USDA veterinary diagnostic lab are listed on the USDA’s website.
Anyone who encounters a sick or dead wild bird is asked to report it to the Pennsylvania Game Commission at 1-833-742-9453. If you have had contact with sick or dead birds and are not feeling well, please contact your primary care physician or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258.
Find more information about avian influenza and protecting your flock, please visit agriculture.pa.gov.
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Free Tax Filing Resources Available
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue offers free online tools and resources that can help people seamlessly file their tax returns:
Direct File
Roughly 2.1 million Pennsylvanians are eligible this tax season to use direct file. This online tax filing tool offers taxpayers the option to file their federal and state tax returns at no cost directly with the IRS and Department of Revenue.
Direct file is being offered this year in Pennsylvania for the very first time. Pennsylvania is one of 25 states partnering with the IRS to offer direct file after it was successfully piloted last year.
The IRS offers an eligibility checker at directfile.irs.gov that will walk you through the steps to see if you’re eligible.
Visit pa.gov/directfile for further information. You can also help spread the word on direct file by visiting the Direct File Toolkit on the Department of Revenue website.
Taxpayer Service and Assistance
The Department of Revenue offers assistance on state Personal Income Tax questions through the department's Online Customer Service Center. Here you can find answers to hundreds of common income tax questions and it allows taxpayers to securely submit a question to the department through a process similar to sending an email. Taxpayers may also call 717-787-8201 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, for state Personal Income Tax assistance.
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Connecting Those in Need with Resources
Do you know about the critical role PA 211 plays in helping Pennsylvanians connect with vital resources across the state and locally? From accessing housing and utility assistance to food assistance, mental health services or disaster support, PA 211 provides hundreds of thousands of residents a free, confidential and 24/7 lifeline to essential social services on which they can depend.
In 2024 alone, PA 211 helped almost 1.9 million Pennsylvanians.
• This included nearly 250,000 interactions with resource navigators via calls, texts and chats, and about 1.65 million searches using the PA 211 online database at pa211.org.
• The 250,000 interactions resulted in almost 705,000 referrals.
• The top needs in 2024 were housing, utilities and food. The PA 211 data demonstrates variability in needs in the Pennsylvania region.
In addition to calling 211, the newly redesigned pa211.org makes it even easier for residents to search for local services by ZIP code or category, ensuring they receive accurate, timely and up-to-date information.
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Pay Attention to Your Heart Health!
February is American Heart Month, a time when all people are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. It notes one person dies every 33 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease. In 2022, 702,880 people died from heart disease. That's the equivalent of one in every five deaths.
To protect yourself, the CDC encourages people to choose healthy foods and drinks, keep a healthy weight, get regular physical activity and don’t smoke. People should also take charge of medical conditions that could increase their risk of heart disease, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes.
Learn more about heart disease and how to protect yourself here.
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Annual Black Cultural Festival This Weekend
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| Office Locations |
| District Office: 437 E North Street | Carlisle, PA 17013 | Phone: 717-249-1990 |
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| 427 Irvis Office Building | House Box 202199 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2199 | 717-772-2280 |
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