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In this Update:
- Rally Against Tolling Interstate Bridges Set for June 8
- Hutchinson, Local Police will Help Residents Replace Worn Out License Plates June 9
- Senate Committee Acts to Protect Women’s Sports
- Bills of Note Approved by Senate Committees
- Preparing for America’s Semiquincentennial
- Scammers are Targeting Student Loan Borrowers
- June 6 is the Anniversary of D-Day
Rally Against Tolling Interstate Bridges Set for June 8
Lawmakers and representatives of local communities will take part in a June 8 Capitol rally against the Wolf administration’s plan to toll nine interstate bridges.
The bridge tolling initiative will cost the average commuter an additional $1,000 per year and was moved through the process without legislative input or approval. Commonwealth Court recently halted the plan, siding with a county and several municipalities that challenged the plan as unconstitutional. The administration has appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
The administration’s plan would add tolls to the following bridges:
The Senate approved Senate Bill 382 to halt the tolling and require more transparency in the Public-Private Partnership process, which produced the tolling plan. Gov. Tom Wolf has threatened to veto the measure. The rally will be held June 8 at 10 a.m. and streamed live at PASenateGOP.com and Facebook.com/PASenateGOP.
Hutchinson, Local Police will Help Residents Replace Worn Out License Plates June 9
Next week, I’ll be joining local police to host an Illegible License Plate event to help residents replace their vehicles’ hard-to-read license plates. The event will be held Thursday, June 9, 4-6 p.m. at my Oil City district office at 229 Elm Street.
A registration plate is deemed illegible when one or more numbers or letters cannot be recognized from 50 feet or if the registration plate shows any blistering, peeling, discoloration or loss of reflectivity, according to PennDOT.
Simply bring your current registration card and the vehicle that has the illegible plate to our office, and we will help you complete the form and send it in to PennDOT for processing. There is no cost for the replacement plate.
Senate Committee Acts to Protect Women’s Sports
Legislation to protect women’s sports in Pennsylvania was approved by the Senate Education Committee and sent to the full Senate for consideration.
Under House Bill 972, an athletic team or sport designated for females, women or girls may not be open to biological males. In addition, a student deprived of an athletic opportunity would be able to file a lawsuit against the offending college or high school.
More than a dozen states passed similar legislation after women’s sports organizations were pressured to allow biological males to compete on their teams.
Bills of Note Approved by Senate Committees
Other bills approved by Senate committees include:
Senate Bill 643, approved by the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee, amends the Local Option Small Games of Chance Act to allow club licensees to retain more of their proceeds from small games of chance while maintaining charitable donation requirements.
Senate Bill 1147, approved by the Senate Labor and Industry Committee, increases penalties on construction companies that fail to use the federal E-Verify system to verify the legal employment eligibility of new hires.
Senate Bill 1183, approved by the Senate Transportation Committee, provides law enforcement new tools to crack down on the illegal operation of dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles on public roads.
Preparing for America’s Semiquincentennial
Planning for America’s 250th birthday in 2026 would be aided by legislation approved by the Senate to help fund Pennsylvania’s celebratory efforts.
Senate Bill 1186 would allocate a portion of the fee from the sale of the special USA semiquincentennial registration plate to the Pennsylvania Commission for the U.S. Semiquincentennial.
America250 is the largest celebration in our nation’s history. Congress established the nonpartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which has been working with state affiliates to engage public and private entities across the country to make America250 a momentous event.
Scammers are Targeting Student Loan Borrowers
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency warns that recent reports about potential broad-based federal loan forgiveness and other changes to student loan programs are creating opportunities for scammers to target student loan borrowers.
One of the recent scams attempts to convince borrowers that there are new student loan rules in place that require immediate action. Scammers typically promise unrealistic amounts of loan forgiveness, offer short cuts to loan forgiveness, or try to get a borrower’s Federal Student Aid ID or other personal information and then rush them into paying immediately.
Scammers will often use the U.S. Department of Education’s name and seal to give it legitimacy.
Here are some tips to avoid being scammed:
- Don’t pay upfront fees for free programs or services.
- Don’t feel pressured to decide quickly.
- Never share personal information.
- Don’t cut off communication with your loan provider/servicer.
- Keep track of your loans.
More from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency
June 6 is the Anniversary of D-Day
“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.” — Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, on the eve of the D-Day invasion, June 6, 1944
More than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France.
More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 soldiers to begin the slow, hard march across Europe, to defeat occupying German troops. We must never forget the brave, young men who confronted a danger few can imagine in the name of liberty.
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