Op-Eds

As restaurants, bars, gyms, entertainment venues and other small employers look forward to higher capacity limits and fewer restrictions starting April 4, there is a sense of optimism that the worst of this year-long COVID-19 nightmare may finally be behind us.  [Read More]

Over the last 10 months, York Countians have inundated our offices with questions and concerns over unilateral decisions set by the governor.   During any crisis, communication, collaboration and transparency are key to provide clarity to avoid confusion.   In the early days of the pandemic, the governor unilaterally shut down many businesses – large […]  [Read More]

In 2019, the Commonwealth entered into a 20-year contract with an Ohio-based company to help expand access to broadband in underserved areas of Pennsylvania. Although this contract was originally billed as a way to help deploy high-speed internet throughout the state, it now appears that this contract is more of an albatross weighing down our […]  [Read More]

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sense of unity and hope that our state and our country could confront this crisis head-on and come out stronger in the end.  [Read More]

Throughout my first five years in office – four as a state Representative and one as a state Senator – one thing is as consistent as Punxsutawney Phil coming out of his slumber in Gobbler’s Knob on February 2: there are always budget gimmicks and games played in Harrisburg.  [Read More]

Following Governor Wolf’s unilateral decision in 2018 to decertify the state’s current voting machines, the legislature had significant concerns about the implementation of this costly unfunded mandate.  [Read More]

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  [Read More]

In April of 2018, Governor Wolf said his administration would move to decertify all existing voting machines following the 2019 election and force counties to purchase new machines in advance of the 2020 Presidential Election.  [Read More]

A few weeks ago, I stood with fellow legislators, local and state business leaders and employee advocates to push for a series of regulatory reforms that will truly help provide the platform for our commonwealth’s economic growth, retain workers, attract new talent and provide a brighter future to all Pennsylvanians.  [Read More]

Governor Tom Wolf’s $34.146 billion state budget plan would grow state spending by nearly 3 percent over last year’s total, marking an increase of nearly a billion dollars in new spending. Unfortunately, even that total doesn’t show taxpayers the entire picture.  [Read More]

Human trafficking is society’s hidden dark secret that happens, sometimes in plain sight.  [Read More]