State representatives and senators are elected to research and propose laws and amendments to laws. They also help constituents with matters involving government agencies, including helping people apply for money to help heat their homes, and senior citizens seeking rent or property tax rebates.

Your state lawmaker can help you obtain birth or death certificates or food stamps, apply to open a business or obtain a driver's license or enroll a child in the state's health insurance program for low-income families.These local representatives responded to a request from the TIMES NEWS to describe what they do for constituents. Their replies:Sen. Dave Argall:His office handled a total of 4,633 cases last year.Half the job is working on legislation. The other half is solving people's problems."The one interesting thing about being a senator is that you never know what the next case will be another elected official with a million dollar project, or someone who lost his driver's license in the washing machine and needs a replacement."The most frequent has to do with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation: pot hole complaints and driver's license applications. The office is also asked to help with birth certificates, and, at certain times of the year, property tax and rent rebate applications from senior citizens."I teach a class in state government, 'The Bureaucratic State,' at Penn State's Harrisburg campus. For three hours a week, I turn into Dr. Argall. Students get not just the theory of bureaucracy, but I'm able to give them good examples of it. In a state of 12 million, people don't know where to go if they have a problem. We consider ourselves the complaint department. When people come to us with a problem, big or small, our goal is to try to get them an answer."And you never know where a complaint will take you. For example, in 1993, (local businessman) Charles Block walked into my office to complain about snow plowing. That lead to the formation of the Tamaqua 2004 Partnership."(The Partnership successfully tackled a number of significant community improvement projects, and indirectly led to the establishment of the Tamaqua campus Lehigh Carbon Community College)."We also had a complaint in the 1990s from Pottsville about tires burning, and that no one seemed to care. That led to legislation that cleaned up 30 million scrap tires in the state. That's about 95 percent of all of the scrap tires in the state."Sen. John Yudichak:His office handled more than 5,000 cases last year."While we have many legislative responsibilities as elected officials, we must also provide quality and honest service to all of our constituents. Each constituent that walks into my office has their own unique story, and whether it's myself or any member of my staff, we are always willing to listen and help in any way we can."Every day, my staff juggles many different responsibilities and fields countless inquiries. Some of our most popular services include helping our constituents file for assistance through the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program and LIHEAP or handling any number of PennDOT issues.However, some of the most memorable interactions are with our veterans. In one particular case, a World War II veteran did not receive a Thank You America certificate from the citizens of France."My office was able to contact the French Consulate in New York City to ensure that his selfless service was rightly recognized with the certificate; and upon receipt, he proudly and tearfully brought the certificate back to our office to thank us."Rep. Mario Scavello:"Most constituent requests are for navigating the state government system and its various agencies. Usually, this time of year, we have a lot of requests for assistance with LIHEAP (home heating aid) applications and SNAP benefits (food stamp) programs."On the third Tuesday of every month, we have a representative from the PA American Legion assist constituents with Veterans issues in our office (by appointment only)."I would only add that we also provide copies of legislation to constituents, and we work to ensure that each constituent's concerns are represented in Harrisburg."We have worked closely with our federal representatives assisting with adoptions, passport information, and citizenship papers. We help people navigate the CareerLink website for employment opportunities."Our office staff gets a great feeling when we have someone that has been everywhere. We were last stop and we were able to help."Rep. Rosemary Brown:"We do a tremendous amount of constituent work in my office daily and the range of topics is extremely varied. Although most of our work is regarding state and state-related issues with agencies within the commonwealth, we also provide information to help direct constituents to resources and contacts they may utilize in order to solve a problem."To my office there is never a silly question and we will always try to help a constituent. As a state representative I am the closest state-elected official to the people of my district and it is important that I am accessible and a strong resource. Constituents often do not know where to turn if they have questions and they will come to my office for assistance."Rep. Doyle Heffley:His office handled 6,821 requests last year."We maintain three district offices two full-time and a satellite office in Lansford. Sometimes people come in, and we're not sure we can help. If it involves a federal matter, we try to set them up with the appropriate people or agency. We get a lot of requests from veterans, and have representatives from the Veterans Affairs office and the American Legion come in to help."Our office does a lot of outreach. We had a Senior Expo, and we're planning a drug and alcohol awareness expo this year. We do town hall meetings and telephone town hall meetings. Accessibility is key for us."My staff is phenomenal. I surround myself with people who have the same drive and work ethic that I do. There are many different facets to this job. We do everything from helping people apply for grants to connecting people with the agencies they need to help them."During the recent cold snap, we had senior citizens call for help because they ran out of heating fuel. We were able to, within an hour and a half, get an oil truck to their homes. My staff goes the extra mile, because they care about people."Sen. Lisa Boscola:We handled about 2,385 constituent casework last year."A lot of them are requests for information on what state agencies have to offer. We get questions from senior citizens to see if they qualify for rent rebates. We do a lot of specialized PennDOT cases, regarding contacting PennDOT for license renewals and other matters."We also are asked for help by people who have had their licenses suspended and haven't gotten them back when they are supposed to. We also get a lot of emails about 75,000 last year on legislation. We respond to every one that comes from within the district."People come in to see me on more complicated cases, like starting a business. I also see a lot of people who have grievances with the court system. I also heard from people who were upset because a pedophile lives near a school bus stop."People come to me for help when they have medical bills and insurance won't pay for it. We get on the phone with insurance companies to see how we can help. We also get people unhappy with decisions made by townships, boroughs or state agencies. We get lots of snow plowing complaints, and people who call about zoning issues."I also get calls from people with mental issues, who may, for example, believe that government agencies are spying on them or that aliens are burrowing tunnels in their back yard."Sometimes, just listening to them calms them down."Rep. Mike Carroll:His office handled 10,000 requests last year. Most common requests for assistance relate to help with driver's license or motor vehicle problems, property tax rebate applications and other state programs."In addition, people are often eager to share their views on legislation or general policy issues they feel strongly about."While most inquiries are related to state government matters, some people confuse me with a member of Congress and seek my assistance with an issue in the realm of the federal government. Such requests are directed to the constituent's congressman."Rep. Jerry Knowles:His office handled 2,678 PennDOT-related requests last year, and said that other requests tripled that amount."My job is voting on legislation dealing with a variety of issues for the 60,000 people I represent in my district. However, constituent service is another very important function as a state representative. By far, the most common service we provide is helping constituents with their driver licenses or vehicle registrations."In 2012, my district ranked eighth statewide for the number of pieces of work that were processed by Motor Licensing through my offices. My offices handled 2,678 pieces of work, with the average number of pieces processed in 2012 per member being 743.""At times, our office is a last resort for people. They have gone everywhere else and can't find help, so they come to us. Our state constitution clearly defines the powers and duties of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government which prohibits my staff from assisting with certain legal issues."Problems involving local governments, school districts, or our federal government in Washington are referred to the correct person who has the ability to help them. Unfortunately, my staff and I can't solve all the problems."On a lighter note, some of the funniest phone calls usually have nothing to do with a state issue. For instance, my staff received a call from a person who wanted them to walk down the street and see if the barber shop was busy and let them know how many people were waiting in line for haircuts."Every time we get a snowstorm with a substantial amount of snow, we get calls from constituents who want to know if there is a state law that says if they shovel out a parking space, no one else is allowed to park in it.