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In this Update:
Remembering Detective Christopher Jones
January 29th for the past sixteen years has been a solemn day in our community. On the morning of January 29, 2009, Officer Chris Jones lost his life while serving our community of Middletown Township. My first ever piece of legislation introduced was for the naming of Detective Christopher Jones Memorial Highway in his honor and memory. I shared Chris’ story on the Senate floor. You can watch here: https://bit.ly/3CEmyTf Our thoughts and prayers are with Detective Jones’ family, the Middletown Township Police Department and the community as we continue to celebrate his life and legacy. Property Tax & Rent Rebate Program is Open
The Pennsylvania Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program is now open and our office can help! The Department of Revenue is now accepting applications for rebates on property taxes and rent paid in 2024. Eligibility:
The table below shows how much homeowners and renters who fit this criteria are eligible for, depending on their income:
I encourage you to call or stop in our office with questions and assistance with applying or visit pa.gov/ptrr to more find information on the program. We also have Pennsylvania and Federal Tax Forms available in our office. Stop by anytime Monday through Friday from 9am-4:30 pm. Senate Acts to Fight Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Public Assistance Programs
This week, the Senate passed three bills to stop waste, fraud and abuse in Pennsylvania’s Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medical Assistance program (Medicaid). The bills will be sent to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for consideration. Senate Bill 155 would prevent deceased people from receiving benefits by requiring the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) to check death certificates at the Bureau of Vital Statistics against recipients of public assistance. A state audit previously found 2,324 deceased public assistance recipients received benefits totaling $700,000 in a 12-month period. Senate Bill 156 would require DHS to compare wage records held by employers and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue with public assistance recipients quarterly to prevent fraud. From 2019-23, the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General filed more than 2,900 criminal complaints of welfare fraud, with more than $15 million owed in restitution. Senate Bill 157 would update the Public Assistance Integrity Act to require DHS to issue a yearly report on its efforts to ensure lottery winners are not receiving cash benefits. The Public Assistance Integrity Act, a bipartisan initiative signed into law in 2018, closed a loophole that did not require lottery winnings to be considered as income when determining eligibility for benefits. Bill Enabling World Cup Team Doctors to Practice in PA Receives Senate Support
With World Cup soccer set to come to Philadelphia, the Senate approved legislation enabling international team doctors to treat their players in the commonwealth. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration. Philadelphia will host the FIFA Club World Cup this summer and the FIFA World Cup in 2026. In both of those contests, athletes will be supported by their traveling team doctors. Under current law, each international doctor would be required to obtain a medical license from the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine to treat players, even for just a single match. I was happy to co-sponsor Senate Bill 184, which would exempt international team doctors from needing to obtain a Pennsylvania medical license to care for their athletes. Much like how the law treats team physicians licensed in other states, international doctors would be limited to treatment of just their players and would be prohibited from practicing in all health care facilities in the commonwealth. New Law Conveniently Returns Money to Pennsylvanians
Money you weren’t expecting may soon be coming your way! The Pennsylvania Treasury Department sent the first batch of letters this week to people who have unclaimed property, thanks to legislation we passed. The new law, PA Money Match, allows the Pennsylvania Treasury to automatically return certain unclaimed property. Eligible properties must be valued at $500 or less and belong to a single owner. Those with eligible properties will receive a letter in the mail to confirm their address. After doing so, they will receive a check for their property in about 45 days. Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced this week that the first round of PA Money Match has the potential to return more than $2 million to more than 8,000 Pennsylvanians – and more will be coming later this year. Treasury is working to return more than $4.5 billion in unclaimed property, which includes things like dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, rebates, insurance payments and more. Our office has worked with many residents to identify and return over $300,000 in unclaimed property. I encourage you to call or stop in our office and we can check if you have unclaimed property.
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