Lawmakers are touting the success of a tip line set up to field concerns about school safety, although most of the calls are related to bullying or mental health issues rather than a potential mass shooting.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office announced Monday statistics from the first year of the Safe2Say program, which was launched in the wake of school shootings in Parkland, Fla. and Santa Fe, Tex. 

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced on July 18 a grant to two anti-gun violence organizations to tackle a significant problem: straw purchases.

The funding will spur outreach initiatives to educate women in Philadelphia about the dangers of gun purchases for those who aren’t legally eligible to buy a firearm. National data says over 30,000 straw purchases are attempted annually, with 80 percent of those initiated by women.

Credit giant Equifax announced Monday that it will pay at least $650 million to settle a series of investigations by federal and state governments into a 2017 data breach that exposed the personal information of almost 150 million Americans.

Pennsylvania and 47 other states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, joined together in a lawsuit arguing the company’s lax security system allowed hackers to steal Social Security numbers, credit card information and other sensitive data from consumers who use the credit bureau’s services.

Some citizens want to see legislatures pass bills with widespread partisan support in rapid fashion to target acknowledged problems. In the case of House Bill 1614, it might be a case of “be careful what you wish for.” 
 
The General Assembly passed a bill that offers “concurrent jurisdiction” in Philadelphia to address the rising gun violence problem in less than a month. Rep. Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin) introduced the bill on June 11, received only one “nay” vote in both chambers, and was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf (D) on July 2.

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 cap insulin prices in Pennsylvania, eliminate the state inheritance tax for children with disabilities and repeal the attorney general’s concurrent jurisdiction over firearms cases in Philadelphia.