A Republican lawmaker is gearing up for another fight over closing the so-called “gun show loophole,” hoping that the third time's the charm for accomplishing one of the long-held goals for Pennsylvania gun control activists.

Rep. Tom Murt (R-Montgomery) is set to introduce a bill, currently being circulated for co-sponsorship, which would create a special check, valid for 48 hours, designed for gun show attendees. It would also require all gun sales be from a federally licensed dealer or take place in front of a sheriff’s deputy.

The second phase of the state’s Justice Reinvestment Program, which cruised through the Senate with unanimous approval, will likely receive more scrutiny in the House, with the bills likely to remain in committee until fall.

House Judiciary Chair Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin) said his committee will take the summer to review the three-bill package, with a litany of members saying they wanted to ensure the committee learned from the successes and failures of the first installment of JRI, passed in 2012.

Following the completion of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s listening tour on recreational marijuana, lawmakers cautioned Monday in a joint House hearing that they would take their time in considering the impact legalization of the drug could have on Pennsylvania.

The House Health and Judiciary Committees heard from law enforcement, gun control advocates and gun owners about the effect of marijuana use, both medical and recreational, has on gun ownership. The matter is complicated, those testifying said, because of how federal and state laws conflict.

Lawmakers are at odds over the best path to reforming judicial elections, even as they voted to move two competing bills out of committee Tuesday.

The House Judiciary Committee voted to approve the two bills, one authored by Rep. Paul Schemel (R-Franklin), the other by Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon). 

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.