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In this Update:
- Healing Your Way Opens in Levittown
- Neshaminy Summer Stock Sensory Friendly Performance
- New State Budget Protects Taxpayers and Funds Priorities
- Cost of Living Adjustment for Retired Teachers, Police and Firefighters
- PennDOT Required to Release Funds for Local Road Projects
- Urgent Action Needed to Keep PA Communities Safe
- Protecting Pets from Excessive Heat
Healing Your Way Opens in Levittown
I was proud to join the Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce and community members for a ribbon cutting celebrating the grand opening of Healing Your Way, located at 1909 Veterans Highway in Levittown.
Healing Your Way was created with a vision to make holistic, integrative healthcare more accessible while bringing together compassionate practitioners dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of our community. To learn more, visit Healing Your Way’s website.
Neshaminy Summer Stock Sensory-Friendly Performances
The Neshaminy Summer Stock theater program has been delighting audiences for 60 years with top-notch shows each July. This year’s three shows — School of Rock (Main Stage), Matilda, Junior (Workshop) and an original production, Hollywood Revisited (Showcase), will be presented next week between Wednesday, July 22 through Sunday, July 26 at Neshaminy High School. Tickets and info for the three can be found online here.
This year, Summer Stock is also pleased to also offer two special pre-opening, sensory-friendly performances of School of Rock and Matilda, Junior on July 21 and 22. These performances offer lighting, activity and sound-sensitive audience members and their families the opportunity to enjoy a modified version of each show that limits sensory elements. Families wishing to attend one or both of these two performances, some information is below.
Shows:
Matilda, Jr. at 10am on Wednesday July 22nd
School of Rock at 7pm on Tuesday July 21st
Ticket Information:
A $5 donation is requested per family (4 family members maximum). Tickets can be obtained at the show prior to each performance. Cash or Venmo only. Proceeds from the sensory-friendly performances will be donated to local autism support organizations.
Registration:
Pre-registration is required, please visit the following link to register: Sensory-Friendly Performance Registration
New State Budget Protects Taxpayers and Funds Priorities
This past Sunday, my colleagues and I passed the 2026-27 state budget. This budget delivers for Pennsylvanians by making meaningful investments in education, workforce development, and our retirees while continuing to protect taxpayers. Below are a few highlights, I feel important for our community.
- No New Taxes
- Significant increases in Public Education Funding
- $565 million in the Ready to Learn Block Grant
- $58 million in Basic Education Funding
- $55 million for Special Education
- $3.3 million increase for school districts in the 6th Senatorial District
- Preserves the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC)
- Additional investments in career and technical education, higher education, and workforce development
- Long overdue cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible retired teachers, school employees, and state workers
- Special Ad Hoc Postretirement Adjustment for municipal police officers and firefighters
- Requires PennDOT to more expeditiously deploy $775 million of highway projects from the Motor License Fund, including over $23 million in Bucks County.
I remain committed to protecting taxpayers while working to empower families, create job opportunities, support students, working families and seniors. I’m your voice in Harrisburg that is always putting our community first.
Cost of Living Adjustment for Retired Teachers, Police and Firefighters
The newly enacted state budget includes a cost-of-living (COLA) increase for retired teachers, school district employees and state employees who retired prior to July 2, 2001, as well as certain retired municipal firefighters and police officers.
Many of these employees retired before 2000 at a much lower retirement system than current employees. In addition, they did not receive the pension benefit enhancements under Act 9 of 2001 and have now gone more than 20 years without a COLA.
The COLAs are fully funded through existing interactive gaming tax revenues, ensuring these benefit enhancements have no impact on state, school district or municipal taxes. The legislation directs a portion of those revenues to fund the pension increases and reimburse municipalities for the municipal benefit adjustments, with any remaining funding continuing to support an existing grant program. These men and women dedicated years to serving our communities, and I’m pleased to support this long-overdue increase in their pensions.
PennDOT Required to Release Funds for Local Road Projects
Recognizing the need to support local roads, an additional $775 million is being directed to three- and four-digit route road projects throughout Pennsylvania communities to quickly improve our highway infrastructure.
As part of our budget negotiations, PennDOT agreed to release an additional $500 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year and $275 million in 2027-28 from the Commonwealth’s Motor License Fund. The funds will be for local road projects only, not interstates, which are funded separately. Bucks County will receive $23,783,150.25 over the next two years.
I’m excited about the impact this funding will have within our region, allowing for the paving and rehabilitation of roadways used by so many area residents on a daily basis.
Urgent Action Needed to Keep PA Communities Safe
Nearly 1,200 people convicted of second-degree murder in Pennsylvania could be released if the state House of Representatives Majority doesn’t act by Friday, July 24.
In March, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the current sentencing structure for second-degree murder is unconstitutional and gave the General Assembly 120 days to enact legislation correcting the situation. The Senate has successfully passed bipartisan legislation to address this issue – legislation supported by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, Pennsylvania District Attorneys and the Pennsylvania State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police.
In Pennsylvania, second-degree murder (also known as felony murder) involves a homicide committed when the defendant engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of certain felonies. In other words, homicides committed while the defendant was also committing another crime such as rape, arson, robbery, burglary or kidnapping.
These are serious and horrific crimes, and the safety of our communities and the voices of the victim’s families are at stake. It’s time for the House to join us in taking urgent action.
Protecting Pets from Excessive Heat
Hot weather reminder: Legislation I authored when I was a state representative, Act 104 of 2018, authorizes police and emergency responders in Pennsylvania to remove dogs and cats from unattended vehicles by force if they’re deemed to be in imminent danger.
Also under this law, dogs that are tethered outside and unattended can only be so for up to nine hours in temperatures up to 90 degrees, and only for 30 minutes above 90 degrees. The dog must have access to an area of shade to escape the direct rays of the sun, as well as clean water.
Watch for signs of heat stroke in animals, including heavy panting, excessive drooling, vomiting and red or purple gums. You can read more about PA’s “Hot Car Bill” here.
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