Responding to a social media outburst from Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), House Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) has reintroduced nearly 90 bills from this session — hoping they get sent anywhere besides Metcalfe’s State Government Committee.

The list includes a number of so-called good government reforms, such as a gift ban, campaign finance reform and redistricting, as well as a bill to ban LGBTQ discrimination in private employment.

Governor Tom Wolf vetoed controversial SB 936 Friday afternoon after a week of partisan battles over how the bill would actually affect injured workers.

In a statement, Wolf said the bill would ration care and hurt health outcomes for laborers across the state.

"Senate Bill 936 threatens health care for millions of workers who could be injured on the job, including police, corrections officers, and firefighters, who put their lives on the line every day, and whose injuries can be unique, debilitating and severe," Wolf said. "It is wrong to sacrifice health care for our first responders to protect the bottom-line for insurance companies and corporations." 

Three bills meant to get low level criminals out of jail and use the cost savings for the state’s stressed parole and probation system passed the Senate unanimously this week.

SB 1070, 1071 and 1072, all sponsored by criminal justice crusader Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery), were the second round of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) reforms, the first of which passed in 2012.

On the eve of deciding whether to sign or veto a bill that restricts workers’ compensation in the name of fighting quackery and opioids, Governor Tom Wolf announced a slew of executive orders to reform how injured workers heal.

“Pennsylvania’s injured workers must have access to reliable, safe, and effective prescription drugs that assist their recovery and ability to re-enter the workforce, while keeping in mind the need to safely and appropriately prescribe all medications, including and especially opioids,” Wolf said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

A report released Wednesday on the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) confirmed a need for reform in the system, but stopped short of prescribing explicit best practices for legislators to enact. 

The report, from the RAND Corporation — a non-profit policy think tank — was initiated through a resolution from Sen. David Argall (R-Schuylkill) that passed the chamber in April 2017.