The House State Government Committee held an information hearing Wednesday morning to examine the implementation by the State Civil Service Commission of Act 69 and Act 167 of 2016.

These two laws work together to modernize the Civil Service Act application, examination, notification, and hiring practice to discontinue any patronage, cronyism, and or nepotism. The goal is to implement a stronger system to hire more qualified civil service applicants at a faster and more modern pace.

The Pennsylvania Office of Administration (OA) and Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission (SCSC) were both represented in the informational hearing to address members of the committee on how the timeline for civil service applications is being implemented. 

On the same day that Pittsburgh City Council passed a bill to expedite the process of removing lead water service lines from the city’s infrastructure, Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner criticized the county’s health department’s response to lead contamination just hours later.

Wagner released her office’s audit of the Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) programs in response to elevated lead water levels. In April, Wagner announced that her office would perform the audit after concerns that the health department was not seriously considering water as a source of lead contamination.

Rep. Patty Kim (D-Dauphin) joined The PLS Reporter to discuss House Bill 1520. Her bill would raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage in increments little by little until it hits $15 per hour by 2024.

The Pennsylvania Senate announced Monday night that they will be returning to session Wednesday afternoon through Thursday to work on a $2.2 billion revenue plan and other budget-related bills in an attempt to move along the close-out of the FY 2016-2017 and FY 2017-2018 budgets.