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Marking Memorial Day
On Monday, I participated in the Canonsburg, Houston and Strabane Veterans Council’s Memorial Day Services. The event included a parade and a program at Oak Spring Cemetery. Congressman Guy Reschenthaler, state Sen. Camera Bartolotta and I are pictured with the honor guard from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 191 in Canonsburg before the parade. Thank you to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms.
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Encouraging Healthy Debate
Earlier this week, I led a debate at Trinity High School about gun control. The students made a lot of good points on both sides of the issue.
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Explore Summer Fun Opportunities in PA
Pennsylvania has thousands of places to visit for summer fun, and the Happy Traveler Guide, now available for download here, is a great tool to help you plan!
Categorized by region, the guide includes nearly 100 pages of attractions, lodging options, dining and many other recreational activities, stretching from Lake Erie to the City of Brotherly Love. The attractions are specially marked for these traveler categories: adventure, arts and culture, family, foodie, history buff, party animal and shopper.
This year’s guide celebrates our awesome amusement parks, eight of which are more than 100 years old! Pennsylvania is also home to more roller coasters rated in the top 100 by Amusement Today than any other state.
Tourism is one of Pennsylvania’s largest industries, injecting $41 billion annually in the state’s economy and supporting nearly half a million jobs. Each year, Pennsylvania hosts nearly 200 million travelers from across the United States. An estimated $2.8 billion is spent each year by international visitors.
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Judiciary Committee Tackles Bills to Protect Homeowners, Minors and Victims of Sexual Extortion
The House Judiciary Committee recently approved three bills to help protect Pennsylvanians from a variety of crimes.
Recognizing that some children are coerced into a childhood marriage, House Bill 360 would prohibit the issuance of a marriage license to anyone under the age of 18. The change in law would also better ensure a person choosing to be married is prepared to make this life-altering commitment.
Responding to the growing problem of illegal residential trespassers or “squatters” essentially taking over properties that don’t belong to them, House Bill 365 would give law enforcement officers better tools to remove such individuals from the property.
Finally, the committee approved legislation to create the offense of sexual extortion, which occurs when a person uses coercion and misuses their power to demand sexual acts, images, or videos from victims. Establishing this specific offense better equips law enforcement officers to protect victims and prosecute offenders.
The bills now go to the full House for consideration.
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Education Committee Advances Charter School Reform Measures
Four bills aimed at updating and improving Pennsylvania’s charter school laws have been approved by the House Education Committee and sent to the full House for consideration.
Charter schools are an important component of our effort to ensure we can meet the unique educational needs of each child.
The bills included in the charter school reform package include:
• House Bill 355, which would create a new ethics requirement for charter school trustees and administrators.
• House Bill 356, which would give charter schools a first right of refusal for the purchase or lease of unused school district buildings and require school districts, community colleges and state-owned universities to give cyber charter schools reasonable access to their facilities to administer standardized tests.
• House Bill 357, which would require the Department of Education to create a uniform process for a charter school application and a uniform charter amendment process.
• House Bill 358, which would allow charter school students to be dually enrolled in college classes through a higher education institution.
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| Office Locations |
| District office: Details coming soon |
| Capitol office: 52-B East Wing, P.O. Box 202048, Harrisburg, PA 17120-2048 | Tel: 717-787-3315 |
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| Email: toneal@pahousegop.com |
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