November 3, 2017
Reading, November 2, 2017 − Sen. Judy Schwank is hosting a Home Water Workshop for residents who get their drinking water from a private well, spring or cistern on Thursday, Nov. 16, at Penn State Berks, 1800 Broadcasting Road. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Franco Building, Room 109.
The program, presented by Penn State Extension, the Delaware River Basin Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, will cover proper well construction and maintenance. That includes factors to consider when siting a well, tips for selecting a well driller, what to test for, maintenance issues, groundwater protection, and treatment options should a contaminate issue arise.
Participants may bring a sample of their drinking water for basic water testing during the session. The testing is for nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH will be provided during the event. Educators will be available to advise participants if their test results suggest further water analysis by an accredited lab is recommended.
For the sample: Empty a fresh, store-purchased plastic bottled-water container and refill it with water from the tap.
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April 14, 2015
HARRISBURG, April 14, 2015 – A legislative proposal by Sen. Judy Schwank dealing with sexual assault on college campuses in Pennsylvania took a positive step forward today.
Schwank’s “PA Safe Campuses Act” received unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Events like the recent one involving Kappa Delta Rho fraternity at Penn State and similar reports from across the county prove again and again how necessary it is for schools to be more proactive in addressing sexual crimes,” Sen. Schwank said following the committee’s vote to send Senate Bill 202 to the floor. “We know that only about 12 percent of campus rapes are reported to police, but every one of them leaves behind a wounded victim.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote today shows that lawmakers understand the problem and we need to do more to make school a safe experience, regardless of gender.”
Under Schwank’s legislation, all post-secondary schools, colleges and universities would be required to adopt policies and establish programs to make students, staff and officials aware of the risks of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.
If signed into law, campuses would be mandated to annually report the number of instances of sexual assault and intimate partner violence on campus, and the security policies and procedures they have established to deal with these issues.
Reports would be public records and they would be required to be posted on the school’s official website.
Schools would also be required to have sexual assault and intimate partner violence policies to ensure that students, employees, volunteers and officials are aware of the rights of victims and responsibilities of witnesses, and to ensure that instances involving minors are immediately reported.
“Existing public disclosure requirements usually do not bring victims forward, so others are never really made aware of the potential risks and dangers at the school they are interested in attending, visiting, or working,” Schwank said.
Schwank proposed a similar bill, SB 337, during the General Assembly’s prior two-year session.
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More information on Sen. Schwank is available on her website, Facebook and Twitter.
February 26, 2015
READING, Feb. 26, 2015 – Frustrated by inadequate proposals to address Pennsylvania’s multi-billion dollar public and municipal pension problems, Sen. Judy Schwank today said she has formally introduced her bill to create an expert panel that would devise the best solution to the crisis.
Senate Bill 564 would create the Public Pensions Review Commission and the 25-member panel would have six months to propose Pennsylvania’s path to pension solvency.
“Make no mistake,” Sen. Schwank said during a press conference here, “every senator in my caucus – and most public officials I have talked with – believe the gaping unfunded pension gap is a very serious problem. To say or think otherwise is disingenuous.
“What has been the problem with the ideas that have been floated is they, at best, would do very little to help the situation and, at worst, would exacerbate it.
“The PPRC would be given the time and the resources to light a path that ends the burden for Pennsylvania taxpayers and frees the commonwealth to use those dollars to properly invest in education, in businesses, and our communities,” Schwank said.
The Public Pensions Review Commission would include the governor; the revenue secretary; state budget director; director of the Office of Administration; the leaders of the four legislative caucuses; the director of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts; the chancellors of the PA State System of Higher Education; the presidents of Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln universities; executive directors of the Pennsylvania League of Municipalities, County Commissioners Association of PA, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, and Pennsylvania School Boards Association; representatives of the three public employee unions; and three public members possessing special expertise in issues relating to public pensions appointed each by the governor, president pro tempore and speaker of the House of Representatives.
The PPRC would be authorized to conduct hearings and receive appropriate information and analysis and be supported by the Joint State Government Commission. Its budget would be $1 million.
The commission would also be subject to right-to-know, sunshine and state ethics laws.
“At the end of six months, the PPRC would be required to do as the law would suggest and ‘recommend statutory and or regulatory changes needed or desirable to achieve … long-term, sound, stable, public pension structure for state and local governments’,” Sen. Schwank said.
While the combined unfunded pension liability for the Public School Employees’ Retirement System and the State Employees’ Retirement System is about $50 billion, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said in January the municipal pension shortfall is $7.7 billion.
In 2013, PSERS paid $5.5 billion in retirement payments statewide, and SERS paid $2.9 billion.
Nearly half of Pennsylvania’s 1,223 municipalities (562) are distressed and underfunded.
“Much is at stake, and it’s important we get this right the first time,” Sen. Schwank said. “It’s why we need the PPRC, and it’s why we must start this process now.”
Joining Sen. Schwank at today’s press conference where:
- Reading City Councilwoman Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz
- Craig Hafer, principal, Walsky Investment Management Inc., Wyomissing, and
- Dr. Solomon Lausch, executive director, Berks Business Education Coalition and retired superintendent for the Schuylkill Valley School District.
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More information on Sen. Schwank is available on her website, Facebook and Twitter.
January 30, 2013
HARRISBURG, Jan. 30, 2013 — The Pennsylvania Senate today unanimously approved legislation that would ensure that all NCAA-imposed fines on Penn State University as a result of the infamous child sex abuse scandal remain in Pennsylvania, according to state Sen. Judy Schwank.
In light of the notorious Jerry Sandusky case, Penn State has agreed to a $60 million NCAA fine over five years to address child sexual abuse. Senate Bill 187 ensures that the money is used to fund Pennsylvania programs and services for child sexual abuse victims.
“The victims were from Pennsylvania, the abuse was perpetrated here, and the crimes were investigated and prosecuted by our authorities,” said Schwank (D-Berks). “This is the state of both the injury and of the injured, and it is the only state that is paying for the healing, so it should be the only place where the funds are spent.”
The legislation covers services to the victims of child sexual abuse regardless of when the abuse occurred.
“Victims of child sexual abuse often suffer throughout their lives with emotional challenges, chemical dependency and even physical afflictions,” Schwank said. “Additionally, children whose legal residences might be in other states do and will continue to find refuge here in shelters or with relatives or a foster family. They should be served too.
“This legislation presents great promise for victims in Pennsylvania, and I hope the House of Representatives will also act swiftly to approve it and send it to the governor so that it will become law as soon as possible,” she said.
