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In this Update:

• Measure Advances Urging Permanent Daylight Saving Time
• Senate Passes Bill to Protect Newborns
• Increasing Accountability and Disaster Response Capability
• Senate Votes to Protect Seniors from Financial Exploitation
• Register to Vote by May 1
• Free Tick Testing for All Pennsylvanians

Measure Advances Urging Permanent Daylight Saving Time

Changing the clocks twice a year is an archaic practice that hurts our communities far more than it helps. This week, the Senate State Government Committee approved a resolution I authored urging Congress to make daylight saving time permanent and eliminate the need for twice-yearly time changes.

Eliminating the transition between standard time and daylight saving time would require action at the federal level. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, legislative bodies have considered at least 450 bills and resolutions in recent years to establish year-round daylight saving time as soon as federal law allows it.

More details on my resolution are available here.

Senate Passes Bill to Protect Newborns

The Senate unanimously passed legislation to protect babies whose parents are unable to care for them. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Senate Bill 267 would expand Pennsylvania’s Safe Haven Law to allow parents to surrender their unharmed baby at participating urgent care centers. The urgent care centers will ensure the newborn is transported to a hospital and placed in the care of a health care provider.

Currently, people may bring their newborn (up to 28 days old) to any Pennsylvania hospital, to a police officer at a police station or to an emergency services provider at an EMS station. The Department of Health estimates that 50 babies have been saved by Pennsylvania’s Safe Haven Law since 2003.

Increasing Accountability and Disaster Response Capability

Legislation requiring Senate confirmation of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) director was approved by a bipartisan Senate vote. Senate Bill 433 would increase accountability and ensure the agency is prepared to deal with emergencies efficiently and effectively.

PEMA is the lead emergency coordination agency in the commonwealth tasked with guaranteeing the safety of 13 million residents. This includes oversight of 911 centers and the Emergency Alert System, as well as hazardous materials and incidents involving five nuclear power plants.

Five state agencies with fewer employees than PEMA require Senate confirmation. The bill is before the House of Representatives for consideration.

Senate Votes to Protect Seniors from Financial Exploitation

The Senate approved a bill to help protect Pennsylvania senior citizens from financial exploitation scams using information that is already available within state government.

Under Senate Bill 137, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General would notify the Department of Aging about any investigations or enforcement actions involving someone age 65 or older and related to the Pennsylvania Telemarketer Registration Act.

The improved information sharing would enable the Department of Aging to deliver warnings to local area agencies on aging in counties across the commonwealth while ensuring strict adherence to confidentiality rules.

Senate Bill 137 now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Register to Vote by May 1

The deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania’s May 16 primary election is Monday, May 1. Your county election board must receive your application for a mail-in or absentee ballot by Tuesday, May 9.

To legally register, individuals must be a citizen of the United States, reside in their local voting precincts at least 30 days prior to the election and be at least age 18 on Election Day, Tuesday, May 16. Once registered to vote, you are not required to register again unless you change your residence, name or political party affiliation.

Voter registration forms, mail-in ballot applications and absentee ballot applications are available here or from your local county’s Board of Elections. You can also use the site to check your registration status.

Free Tick Testing for All Pennsylvanians

Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of Lyme disease cases. As we continue to fight Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in the commonwealth, East Stroudsburg University offers a valuable resource for all Pennsylvanians.

The university has a tick lab, which provides free testing on ticks for harmful diseases including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and more. Send a tick sample to the lab and receive the test results that are often necessary evidence for doctors to treat you and increase your chance of staying healthy.

This week, the Senate passed a bill to require school officials to notify a student’s parents or guardian if a tick is removed from them at school and inform them of the symptoms of Lyme disease. The bill also calls for schools to provide the tick to parents or guardians if they would like to send it to the lab for testing.

To remove a tick, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp it as close to the skin’s surface as possible and then pull upward with a steady, even pressure. Avoid twisting or jerking as this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

For more information about tick-borne diseases or how to submit a tick for testing here.

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