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The latest news from the State Capitol |
In this Edition:
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Supporting Literacy for All Ages |
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Learn More About PA Game Lands |
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Unleashing PA’s Tourism Potential |
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Poll Workers Sought for Upcoming Election |
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Fire, EMS Grant Applications Due Soon |
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Locate Lost Life Insurance Policy Benefits |
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Protecting PA Birds from Avian Flu |
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Celebrating EHT Community |
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Supporting Literacy for All Ages
Lower Dauphin Communities That Care’s Books on Board program provides a bookmobile that travels all over the area. There are materials for everyone from the earliest readers to adults.
Recently, I presented Lower Dauphin Communities That Care with a $20,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Learn more in the video linked above.
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Learn More About PA Game Lands
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is planning a series of driving tours through several state game lands, including one location in northern Dauphin County.
The tours are designed to help people learn more about opportunities available on game lands statewide, while showcasing how habitat work being done on these tracts benefits wildlife. All tours are free, held rain or shine, and open only to vehicles licensed for travel on public roads.
The Dauphin County tour at State Game Lands 211 is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. Start at the gate on Ellendale Road. A detailed schedule is available here.
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Unleashing PA’s Tourism Potential
The House Republican Policy Committee recently convened a hearing to discuss the obstacles and opportunities facing Pennsylvania’s tourism industry.
A 2024 report from the Pennsylvania Tourism Office found the Commonwealth’s tourism industry generated $76.7 billion in economic impact, supported 486,871 jobs and contributed $4.7 billion in state and local taxes in 2022.
The hearing, titled “Passport to Prosperity: Unleashing Pennsylvania’s Tourism Potential,” was held in Wayne County and featured testimony from John Kiesendahl, second-generation owner and CEO emeritus, and Bradley Kiesendahl, president and CEO, Woodloch Resort; Ronald R. Schmalzle, vice chair, Pike County commissioners; and Genevieve Reese, first vice chair, Pocono Mountain Visitor Bureau.
Click here to watch the hearing.
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Poll Workers Sought for Upcoming Election
Beyond exercising your right to vote, what can you do to help elections run smoothly across the Commonwealth? Consider serving as a poll worker in the upcoming election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Open positions vary by county but may include judge of elections, majority inspector and minority inspector, which are elected positions. Counties also need clerks and machine operators/inspectors at each precinct. These positions are filled by appointment.
Counties train poll workers on their election day duties. Workers receive payment for training and for their service on election day.
In order to serve, you must be registered to vote in the county where you wish to work. Exceptions exist for 17-year-old high school students; contact your county election office for more information. Government officials and government employees generally are not allowed to serve as poll workers. Likewise, you are not permitted to serve if your name appears on the ballot.
Poll workers generally work for the entire day on election day, from before the time the polls open at 7 a.m., until after the polls close at 8 p.m.
People interested in serving as poll workers should start by filling out this form. If you have questions, call 877-VOTESPA (877-868-3772) or email re-voterreg@pa.gov.
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Fire, EMS Grant Applications Due Soon
All fire companies, emergency medical service providers and volunteer rescue squads may now apply for the latest round of grants through the Office of the State Fire Commissioner. Projects for which grants may be used include facilities, equipment, debt reduction, training, education, recruitment and retention.
The deadline to apply is Sunday, Oct. 20. For more information, please visit www.osfc.pa.gov.
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Locate Lost Life Insurance Policy Benefits
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department recently announced that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) free Life Insurance Policy Locator has helped PA families recover nearly $72 million in benefits from 3,000 life and annuity insurance policies so far this year.
Pennsylvania law requires all companies selling life insurance policies in the Commonwealth to participate in the service. The Insurance Department’s Consumer Services Bureau can help you access NAIC’s tool and answer questions about how it works.
When a consumer submits a request, NAIC asks participating life insurance companies to search their records to determine whether a life insurance policy or annuity contract in the name of the deceased exists. The insurance company will then contact the requester if a policy is found and if the requester is named as a beneficiary.
You can access the life insurance policy locator on the department’s website. Consumers with questions or concerns regarding a life insurance policy, or to file a complaint, can contact the Consumer Services Bureau online or by calling 1-877-881-6388.
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Protecting PA Birds from Avian Flu
On Thursday, I visited Mahantongo Game Farms and Martz’s Gap View Hunting Preserve in Schuylkill County to learn more about the biosecurity measures in place to ensure pheasants are not exposed to the highly contagious avian flu. Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Rep. Joanne Stehr (R-Schuylkill) were on the tour with me. Pheasant hunting has a storied history in Pennsylvania and remains a popular sport, so it is important we ensure there are healthy, well-bred birds for many years to come.
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Celebrating EHT Community
East Hanover Township revived its Community Park Day last weekend, offering live music, food, games, face painting and other activities to those who stopped by. I joined township officials in cutting a ribbon to celebrate the township’s new amphitheater.
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