State Senate Slow to Move on Bills

Not one bill has been signed into law yet this state legislative session. Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi’s spokesperson Erik Arneson says that may change soon. So far, the Senate has passed 20 bills-that's one less than the House has approved but no measures have gotten the support of both chambers. Legislation allowing parents to keep children on family health insurance plans until their late twenties or thirties has cleared both chambers but with slightly different language. Arneson says he's hopeful lawmakers can clear up differences and agree on a final version of that bill in the weeks to come. “We should be able to get one of those bills to the governor hopefully in April. The Senate had passed that measure late last year. The House just didn't have time to consider it. Now early in this session we've both passed versions of it. So yeah, there's no reason that shouldn't be able to get to the Governor's desk.” In all, 671 bills have been introduced in the Senate, and 117 have been reported out of committee. Arneson notes the Senate has spent the majority of its time focusing on budget negotiations, though, saying that's the General Assembly's top priority this year.