We get it, session weeks are busy. That’s why we put together a list of the bills being discussed in committee and on the floor of the General Assembly that are worth devoting your precious time to tracking. From a lobbying gift ban to school choice, here are five bills to watch for the week of November 18.

80 percent of voters strongly or somewhat favor legislation that would allow courts to take control of a person’s weapons if a judge determines them to be a risk to themselves or others, according to a new poll from Franklin and Marshall University released Thursday.

That number, however, falls to 66 percent when voters are informed a gun owner might “temporarily lose their firearms before they can represent themselves in court,” a gap which illustrates the difficult landscape gun control activists must face in the state.

The top-ranking Republican in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives says the chamber will resume its practice of inviting outside guests to lead the chamber in prayer when lawmakers return in October, following a court ruling that said the House may turn away nontheists who wish to give the opening invocation.

 

In a statement announcing the move, House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) said that an injunction against the House has been lifted, allowing the 203-member body to invite guest chaplains to deliver the prayer that precedes each legislative session. 

Amid all the floor debates, press conferences and committee hearings, the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s newest co-sponsorship memos can get lost in the shuffle. That’s why The PLS Reporter rounds up some of the most noteworthy co-sponsorship memos each week, so you can stay informed of what’s going on in the Capitol.

In this week’s feature are memos for proposals that would ban flavored e-cigarettes in Pennsylvania, eliminate cross-filing for public office candidates and provide scholarship grants to students in Harrisburg schools.

Gov. Tom Wolf has spent a considerable amount of time this year pitching his plan to “restore” Pennsylvania through revenue from a shale gas tax, but House Republicans who stand in the way of Wolf’s proposal see a different path forward — one that attracts energy sector jobs to Pennsylvania through tax credits and permitting relief.

 

GOP lawmakers on Wednesday reiterated their desire to pass the “Energize PA” package helmed by House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny), which is designed to be a catalyst for job creation in the state.