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| Mehaffie Message |
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The latest news from the State Capitol |
In this Edition:
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Chamber Event Previews Return to House Session |
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New Permit Tracking Tool Available |
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Local Company Highlights Its Growth |
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PGC Seeks Help for Winter Turkey Survey |
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Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period |
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Chamber Event Previews Return to House Session
The Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC Legislators’ Forum held Wednesday provided a good preview of the 2025-26 Legislative Session’s first voting days, which will be next week. The current makeup of the chamber is 101 Republicans and 101 Democrats, due to the tragic passing of Rep. Matt Gergely of Allegheny County over the weekend.
At the Chamber forum, I talked about the 3,000-plus jobs coming as part of Constellation Energy’s restart of Three Mile Island’s Unit 1. That segued into conversation about grid reliability, workforce shortages, career training and similar topics.
The start of a new session means we are introducing bills for fresh consideration. You can read about some of my legislative initiatives in these cosponsorship memos. The bills will be formally introduced and assigned bill numbers in the coming days and weeks.
Remember, all House sessions and committee meetings are streamed live at www.PAHouseGOP.com.
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New Permit Tracking Tool Available
On the heels of permitting reforms approved by the General Assembly last year, with my support, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA) have launched a new tool to track the progress of permit applications submitted to DEP.
The Permit Status Tracker can:
• Search by authorization ID or keyword.
• Filter by county, program area, permit type, application type, status and submission date.
• View application status, details and estimated processing time.
• Find contact information for your reviewer.
The tracking system was one of three initiatives aimed at improving the state’s permitting process adopted last year as part of the 2024-25 state budget. Act 54 of 2024 also allows applicants to use third-party entities approved by the state to expedite the review process for air, land and water permits issued by DEP and county conservation districts. It also holds DEP accountable for permit delays.
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Local Company Highlights Its Growth
A recent visit to Illuminated Integration allowed me to see how this Lower Swatara Township company provides lighting, audio-visual equipment, rigging and services to large venues like churches, theaters, museums, arenas, etc.
My thanks to Illuminated Integration, particularly Sylvia Garner and Bobby Dengler, for inviting me to see how the company is contributing to local innovation and business growth.
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PGC Seeks Help for Winter Turkey Survey
The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) is asking for the public’s help finding turkey flocks to trap for ongoing projects. Pennsylvanians are encouraged to report the location of any turkey flocks they see across the state. Information is being collected online here through March 15.
Among other things, visitors to that webpage are asked to provide the date of the sighting, the location and the type of land (public, private or unknown) where birds are seen.
Trapping turkeys during winter is part of the commission's ongoing population monitoring, and it provides information for large-scale turkey studies.
Read more here.
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Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period
The Pennsylvania Department of Aging (PDA) is reminding older adults the annual Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs now through March 31. During this time, beneficiaries who currently have a Medicare Advantage plan can switch to a different plan or to original Medicare. Changes to their enrollment will take effect on the first of the month following the month in which they enroll.
Pennsylvania Medicare Education and Decision Insight (PA MEDI) – the Commonwealth’s Medicare counseling program – is available through the 52 local Area Agencies on Aging to help beneficiaries with Medicare questions. Older adults can receive unbiased, no-cost Medicare assistance from trained PA MEDI counselors who can walk them through their options to assist in making informed health insurance decisions that optimize their cost savings and access to health care and benefits.
Medicare Advantage is a Medicare-approved plan from a private company that offers an alternative to original Medicare for health and drug coverage. These “bundled” plans include Part A Hospital Insurance, Part B Medical Insurance and usually Part D Drug Coverage.
PA MEDI counselors do not sell Medicare insurance products, nor do they endorse any insurance company, product or agent. Counselors will not recommend policies, companies or insurance agents but will provide free, confidential and unbiased personalized assistance.
Contact the Dauphin County Area Agency on Aging at 717-780-6130 to schedule a personalized session. For more information, call the toll-free PA MEDI Helpline at 1-800-783-7067 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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