The top-ranking Republican in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives says the chamber will resume its practice of inviting outside guests to lead the chamber in prayer when lawmakers return in October, following a court ruling that said the House may turn away nontheists who wish to give the opening invocation.

 

In a statement announcing the move, House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) said that an injunction against the House has been lifted, allowing the 203-member body to invite guest chaplains to deliver the prayer that precedes each legislative session. 

When House Republicans advanced a sweeping regulatory reform package in the spring, one bill was missing. That bill, House Bill 1055, would create a state office tasked with identifying regulations to repeal — something Democrats decried and Republicans praised.

 

And while the bill looked certain to pass, a 100-97 vote fell short of the constitutional majority needed to pass, calling the bill’s future into question. But a motion to reconsider on Tuesday resurrected the bill, which, this time, passed the House with enough votes.

Today voters are heading to the polls for the May primary election, an election that will also determine three new lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House and Senate. The PLS Reporter will continually update this live blog with new information on the major state and municipal races of the day. 

Pennsylvania Democrats are planning to unveil a tax reform proposal that would cut taxes for a majority of Pennsylvanians and raise over $2 billion in new revenue, all while working around the state constitution’s uniformity clause that prohibits progressive income taxes on state residents.

The proposal, called the “Fair Share Tax Plan,” would split the state’s personal income tax into two parts — a tax on wages and tips and a tax on wealth. House Democrats introducing the proposal want to reduce the personal income tax on wages and tips from 3.07 percent to 2.8 percent and increase the personal income tax on wealth — which includes money from interest, dividends, net income, capital gains, royalties, winnings and more — from 3.07 percent to 6.5 percent. 

House Republicans were just two votes shy on Tuesday of sending a full package of regulatory reform bills over to the Senate for consideration, but GOP lawmakers still found success with the passage of four pieces of legislation that aim to restructure the state’s regulatory processes.

The House passed four bills from the GOP caucus #GovtDoneRight wish list with relative ease on Tuesday, but one bill eluded passage as some Republicans grew skeptical of the effects it could have across the state.