From the ongoing grand jury fallout to a Keystone guest at the funeral of statesman John McCain, check out the week as described by Tweets from lawmakers, influencers, and others around Pennsylvania state government.

Marking Black Women Equal Pay Day earlier this week, Rep. Morgan Cephas (D-Philadelphia) hosted a hearing in Philadelphia to discuss the impact on women of color of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME.

The date, August 7, represents how long it takes for women of color to make the same amount of money than their white male counterparts by the end of the previous year.
 
“On average, black women are paid 38 cents [per dollar] less than white men,” Cephas said. “They face double discrimination based on gender and racial biases.”

Rep. Donna Bullock (D-Philadelphia) is not shy about her concern that some bills introduced in Harrisburg have a main target: preempting policies set in place by Philadelphia’s local governing body.

“They want to put the handcuffs on Philadelphia and say ‘you can’t do that,’’’ Bullock said.

The issue of preemption, or to replace, reverse, or supercede another law that was already in place, has become a sticking point this year as state laws have attempted to roll back city policies.

The House Democratic Policy Committee discussed House Bill 962, the Safe Campuses Act, during Friday’s public hearing at Temple University.

Rep. Maria Donatucci (D-Philadelphia), the bill’s prime sponsor, wants Pennsylvania to require all post-secondary schools, colleges, and universities to adopt policies to have a uniform standard for reporting sexual harassment.