With budget talks continuing in Harrisburg, members of OnePA and other advocacy groups held rallies across the state to demand a minimum wage increase be included in whatever passes the General Assembly this month.

Introduced with the budget earlier this year, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) offered a bump up to $12 an hour from the current $7.25 and then incremental raises to $15 an hour by 2025. Supporters point to the wage increases by all of Pennsylvania’s neighbors as proof workers need a boost.

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 censure Rep. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia) for recent conduct, reform vehicle emissions testing in Pennsylvania and replace in-person voting with mail-in voting.

Pennsylvania State Police leadership defended a new policy limiting how they can interact with federal immigration authorities before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday in response to concerns from both conservative lawmakers and civil liberties groups.

Starting in January, PSP policy bars troopers from stopping residents for the sole purpose of determining their immigration status. It also prohibits detaining people based on non-binding administrative warrants issued by federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

A bill forcing Pennsylvania municipalities to help enforce federal immigration laws was modified and advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee by a strong bipartisan margin Wednesday afternoon.

The bill, SB 10 from Sen. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Allegheny), originally let citizens hurt by an undocumented immigrant sue their local government for damages if they do not aid in immigration enforcement. It passed 19-5.

Now, under language borrowed from Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia), it lets residents of sanctuary cities or other jurisdictions preemptively sue their governing body to overturn the policies.