Rep. Warren Kampf (R-Chester) renewed his effort to bring new state and public school employees under a defined contribution pension plan with Friday’s announced introduction of House Bill 727.

“Getting this reform signed into law this year or the next two years would be groundbreaking,” he told The PLS Reporter. “I don’t consider it a first step, I consider it in and of itself a very significant reform to our public retirement system.”

Meet Acting Secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Leslie Richards. Find out how her department handles bad weather, her goals in her new position, and what construction projects on our roads and bridges we can expect in Spring. 

In the first installment of our new feature, "In Reflection," former-Sen. Earl Baker (R-Chester) takes a look at Pennsylvania's energy potential.

"The natural gas industry has the potential to produce enough energy to substantially power our state, and much of the nation’s energy needs," Sen. Baker says in the article. "To accomplish that, the infrastructure for distribution is a significant element of investment, and all we have to do is look at the ability of Russia to turn the energy spigot on and off to Ukraine, Eastern and Western Europe to see that Pennsylvania can be an instrument of national power through export."

A day after Democratic leaders from both chambers gave universal support to Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget plan, Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and Senate Appropriations Committee Minority Chairman Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) said the full depth of the caucus’s support will be more accurately found following budget hearings.

“To say I have 100 percent of our members on board, I can’t say that and I will never say that,” Sen. Costa told reporters. “I will say to you we haven’t heard objections, significant objections from our members when they look at [the budget proposal] in a comprehensive way.”

The Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA), along with Rep. Eddie Pashinski  (D-Luzerne) hosted a press conference in the Main Rotunda this morning to highlight “Music in Our schools Month.”  Music in Our Schools Month is a nationwide event sponsored by the National Association for Music Education and each day during the month there are performances by high school, middle school and elementary schools in both the East Wing and Capitol Rotundas. During the event, Rep. Pashinski read HR 44 designating the month of March 2015 as Music in Our Schools Month.