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In this Update:

• Finance Committee Advances Commonwealth Zero-Based Budgeting Act
• Lifesaving Bill to Eliminate Cost Barriers to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Approved by Senate
• Senate Targets PA Opioid Crisis with Expanded Reporting Tool
• Measure to Prevent Eminent Domain Abuse Approved by Senate
• School Bus Safety Grant Program Applications Accepted
• Celebrating Great Outdoors Month

Finance Committee Advances Commonwealth Zero-Based Budgeting Act

As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I want to share a significant step we took during our meeting this week to address Pennsylvania’s fiscal challenges head-on by rethinking how the Commonwealth builds its budget from the ground up. For too long, the state has relied on incremental budgeting, where previous years’ spending levels automatically serve as the baseline, often allowing bureaucratic inefficiencies to go unchecked. With this year’s budget negotiations proving especially difficult, the committee once again advanced legislation to implement zero-based budgeting across state agencies. This approach requires each department to justify every dollar in its budget request, rather than simply asking for more than the year before. It’s a more disciplined, transparent and responsible way to manage taxpayer dollars, and one that will help ensure spending is based on need and performance, not habit.

We also advanced two key bills to expand the PA Money Match Program at the Treasury Department, which allows unclaimed property to be automatically returned to Pennsylvanians without the need for a formal claim. Just before the meeting, I joined Treasurer Stacy Garrity and others for a press conference announcing the success of the PA Money Match Program, which we launched together last legislative session. You can watch the press conference here and the committee meeting here. The program has already helped return unclaimed property to thousands of Pennsylvanians, and this week, we advanced two bills that expand it further. By raising the threshold for automatic returns, more people will be able to receive what’s rightfully theirs—quickly and without red tape. It’s a commonsense, bipartisan effort that puts more money back into the hands of working families across our Commonwealth.

Lifesaving Bill to Eliminate Cost Barriers to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Approved by Senate

Patients who receive abnormal results from supplemental breast cancer screenings will be able to access the necessary follow-up diagnostic imaging at no cost under bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate. This ensures critical continuum of care.

Senate Bill 88 builds on the success of Act 1 of 2023, which provided no-cost preventive screenings for individuals at high risk. Senate Bill 88 takes the next step with no-cost follow-up diagnostic imaging and expands eligibility to include individuals at average risk.

While 26 other states have followed Pennsylvania’s lead in offering no-cost supplemental breast screening since the passage of Act 1, Pennsylvania remains the only state without guaranteed coverage for diagnostic imaging. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives.

Senate Targets PA Opioid Crisis with Expanded Reporting Tool

The Senate voted to incorporate overdose reporting by EMS providers into the statewide Overdose Information Network to make sure first responders, treatment providers and other key parties have the information they need to save lives.

Senate Bill 89 would require the Pennsylvania Department of Health to coordinate with the Pennsylvania State Police to ensure real-time overdose reporting by EMS providers is incorporated into the statewide mapping system. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives.

EMS providers would report information including the date and time of the overdose, location, substances used by the victim and more. In other action to prevent opioid deaths, Senate Republicans led passage of a measure giving EMS personnel permanent authority to leave behind a dose of lifesaving naloxone at non-fatal overdose scenes.

Measure to Prevent Eminent Domain Abuse Approved by Senate

Legislation to protect property owners against eminent domain abuse and ensure they are fully compensated when their property is taken by government was approved by the Senate.

Senate Bill 225 would ensure business owners and farmers whose properties are seized through eminent domain are compensated for loss of “goodwill,” which goes beyond the assessed value.

For farms, the land may possess characteristics that make it particularly special, such as fertile soil. In the case of another business, goodwill may be because of location, access to utilities and other factors. 

Farmers, employers and homeowners testified before a Senate committee last year about eminent domain abuse. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

School Bus Safety Grant Program Applications Accepted

School districts, school bus companies and municipalities have until July 3 to apply for state grants to improve school bus safety and pay for training and other costs associated with attracting much-needed school bus drivers.

Legislation passed by the General Assembly allows school districts to install automated camera systems to enforce the state School Bus Stopping Law and increase safety for school children. A portion of the fines paid by violators are used for the School Bus Safety Grant Program.

Details and the online application are available here.

Celebrating Great Outdoors Month

The arrival of summer means plenty of opportunities to get outdoors and enjoy what nature has to offer locally and across our commonwealth.

Pennsylvania is home to cool, green forests, thousands of pristine lakes and streams, hiking trails and state parks. Find plenty of ways to explore the great outdoors of our region and the state here.

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