After numerous health battles, Rep. Michael O'Brien (D-Philadelphia) passed away of a heart attack early this morning. He was 64 years old.

Lawmakers remembered O'Brien as a passionate and conscientious lawmaker who stood up for his Old City district by winning education and development dollars as well as fighting for equality well before identity became a Democratic plank.

After years of advocate energy and two bipartisan votes brought it to his desk, Friday evening Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill restructuring domestic abusers' access to firearms.

Previously, final PFA recipients had 60 days to hand over their firearms when required by a judge, and could hand them off to friends and family.

A twisty, turvy House floor debate finally ended this week when the chamber approved a bill to let magisterial judges run for reelection without filing signatures.

The debate also made for some odd ideological bedfellows over the course of two votes to suspend the rules, a constitutional question and ultimately its final passage which moved 128-65. 61 Democrats joined with 67 Republicans in support, while 17 Democrats joined with 48 Republicans opposed.

Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb has not minced words when it comes to the city’s water authority.

Lamb has previously described the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority as “mismanaged”, and pointed to issues caused by a “perfect storm of mistakes and incompetence.” But he showed a turnaround this week by praising their recent progress and joined the ranks of citizens and elected officials opposed to privatization.

Peoples Natural Gas has been courting the water authority since the spring to start a public-private partnership, but Lamb called the offer misguided and warned privatization would undo the progress seen over the past year.

A preliminary offer from the Pennsylvania Senate that does not allow for retroactive civil suits has strained negotiations on the legislative response to the grand jury report.

Any organization could pay in to settle child abuse cases. The panel would audit groups to determine how much funding each could reasonably offer, and victims would have one year to make claims.