The Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently passed the following bills and sent them to the Senate for concurrence. Here is how our area representatives voted:

House Bill 634

The bill would amend the Public School Code of 1949 regarding school safety, security coordinators and panic alarm systems, mandating schools factor panic alarm systems into their safety and security reviews.

Vote: 200-3

Yes: Jamie Barton, Gary Day, Doyle Heffley, Zach Mako and Jack Rader.

House Bill 1700

The bill would amend Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to create a communication barrier designation for drivers and impose penalties for false statements. It would provide an optional or official communication barrier/impairment designation to assist during traffic stops or interactions with law enforcement.

Vote: 203-0

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 2184

The bill would amend Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to establish a formal statutory definition of the “public interest” and require the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to consider it in utility rate and infrastructure decisions. It defines “public interest” statutorily, directing the PUC to evaluate factors like affordability, reliability and equity, and mandate the commission explain how its rulings serve the public interest.

Vote: 150-53

Yes: Day and Heffley

No: Barton, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 2490

The bill aims to help child welfare providers manage rising insurance costs and liability. It would amend Title 67 (Public Welfare) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to prohibit county agencies from requiring child welfare providers to waive an insurer’s subrogation rights as a condition of receiving a county contract, baning counties from forcing a waiver prevents an extra layer of financial and insurance risk from falling on providers.

Vote: 203-0

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 2549

The bill would amend Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to allow voluntary $5 contributions through PennDOT vehicle registration and driver’s license renewal processes to the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Shriners Hospitals for Children, the Fire Company Grant Program and the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Grant Program.

Vote: 203-0

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 2625

The bill would amend Chapter 93 (Pennsylvania’s Racehorse Industry Reform Act) to clarify requirements for applicants. It would further provide for and expand the additional powers of the state horse-racing commission, including tightening background checks for applicants.

Vote: 203-0

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 2645

The bill would establish statewide licensing and regulatory standards for home inspectors, replacing the state’s prior reliance on general statutory standards by requiring home inspectors to complete at least 80 hours of commission-approved education, register as a home inspector-in-training, perform at least 50 mentored/supervised home inspections and pass a commission-approved licensing examination.

Vote: 190-13

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 911

The bill would amend Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to guarantee health insurance and related benefits for the surviving family members of municipal law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty, providing lifetime health insurance coverage for the surviving spouse of a fallen officer and health insurance coverage for the officer’s children until the age of 26.

Vote: 203-0

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 1925

The bill would regulate artificial intelligence in health care facilities, insurance companies and Medical Assistance or CHIP managed care plans, requiring hospitals, clinicians, and insurers to provide clear public and patient transparency regarding how AI tools are integrated into practice settings and coverage reviews.

Vote: 144-59

Yes: Day and Heffley

No: Barton, Mako and Rader

House Bill 2083

The bill would amend Title 16 (Counties) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes regarding local hotel room rental taxes, providing for hotel room rental taxes in third through eighth class counties, as well as second and second class A counties, and establishing uniform hotel tax reports and standardized administrative forms for county collections.

Vote: 194-9

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 2187

The bill is designed to change the frequency of criminal history background checks for state employees and contractors with access to federal tax information. It would increase the required frequency of background checks from every 10 years to every five years.

Vote: 203-0

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 2229

The bill would amend the Solid Waste Management Act to require the Department of Environmental Protection to forward notices of noncompliance or spill notifications to local municipalities within 14 days. It aims to improve local communication and transparency by ensuring the DEP informs local municipal governments of environmental violations, spills or noncompliance issues.

Vote: 203-0

Yes: Barton, Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

House Bill 2398

The bill would amend Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to establish requirements for flood evacuation plans at organized camps. Municipalities would require operators of organized camps located within 500 feet of a special flood hazard area to maintain and implement flood evacuation plans

Vote: 180-23

Yes: Day, Heffley and Mako

No: Barton and Rader

House Bill 2535

Known as the Commercial Data Center Public Safety Act, the bill would regulate large-load commercial data centers to protect first responders. Before receiving a certificate of occupancy, operators would be required to submit an emergency operations floor plan and a generalized infrastructure inventory to local fire officials.

Vote: 187-16

Yes: Day, Heffley, Mako and Rader.

No: Barton