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In This Update:

• May 4 is the Deadline to Register to Vote in the Primary Election
• Highlights in the 47th
• Senate Approves Legislation to Help Relieve PA Nurse Shortage
• Measures Reinforcing Commercial Vehicle Safety Approved by Committee
• Hearing on Resource Adequacy, Energy Market, Barriers to New PA Power Generation
• Mammo May: Early Detection Saves Lives

May 4 is the Deadline to Register to Vote in the Primary Election

Tomorrow, May 4, is the deadline to register to vote in the May 19 primary election.

You can register to vote online, by mail or at several government agencies. To register to vote in Pennsylvania, you must:

• Be a citizen of the United States for at least one month before the next primary election.
• Be a resident of Pennsylvania and the election district in which you want to register and vote for at least 30 days.
• Be at least 18 years of age on or before the day of the primary.

Learn more about registering to vote here. Check if you’re registered to vote here.

Highlights in the 47^th

Congratulations to Conrad’s Tire Express & Total Car Care on the grand opening of your new New Brighton location!

Wishing your team continued success as you grow and serve the Beaver County community.

Great news for agriculture and animal health right here in Beaver County! I’m proud to share this exciting update from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture on the opening of the new Keystone Animal Health Diagnostic Lab at Penn State Beaver.

This important investment will help farmers across western Pennsylvania by improving turnaround times for testing, lowering costs, and strengthening our ability to respond quickly to animal health concerns.

Facilities like this play a critical role in protecting our agricultural industry, supporting local farmers, and ensuring the health and safety of our food supply.

A big thank you to Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and all those who helped make this project a reality!

I had the opportunity to tour the Neighborhood North Museum of Play in Beaver Falls and learn more about the exciting future development plans they have in store.

This incredible space is dedicated to inspiring creativity, learning, and imagination for children and families in our community. I’m looking forward to seeing how it continues to grow and make a positive impact right here in Beaver County!

Senate Approves Legislation to Help Relieve PA Nurse Shortage

The Senate approved legislation to help alleviate Pennsylvania’s nurse shortage by increasing the number of qualified nursing students.

Senate Bill 998 would establish the Nurse Education Capacity Expansion Grant Program, aimed at increasing the number of qualified nursing students by providing targeted support to accredited nursing schools across Pennsylvania.

Nursing education programs would have to meet key performance benchmarks, including strong graduation rates, high licensure exam pass rates and successful job placement outcomes. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. Read more about Senate Bill 998 here.

Measures Reinforcing Commercial Vehicle Safety Approved by Committee

A package of bills to improve safety standards for commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders in Pennsylvania was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee.

The measures are the result of a committee fact-finding hearing in December, which revealed deficiencies and loopholes involving criminal illegal migrants. The hearing was prompted by a fatal crash in the state of Indiana involving a Pennsylvania-issued, non-domiciled CDL held by a citizen of Kyrgyzstan.

The package includes the following bills:

• Senate Bill 1294 improves the training curriculum and strengthens penalties to shutdown unqualified “CDL Mills.”
• Senate Bill 1295 requires English proficiency in all testing applications to operate an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle on public highways.
• Senate Bill 1296 establishes new penalties for out-of-service violations issued to unsafe CDL drivers, including the operation of a heavy commercial vehicle on public highways without English comprehension.

The bills now go to the full Senate for consideration.

Hearing on Resource Adequacy, Energy Market, Barriers to New PA Power Generation

Continuing efforts to ensure Pennsylvania families and employers have access to reliable, affordable electricity, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held a public hearing to examine the latest energy market conditions and barriers to new power generation in the commonwealth.

The panel heard from testifiers representing the regional power grid, PJM, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and others. ReliabilityFirst, which is responsible for ensuring the dependability and security of the regional bulk power system, projected risk to grid reliability could come in 2029 instead of in the early 2030s as previously projected.

The surge of demand from data centers and the need for more skilled infrastructure workers were also discussed. You can view written testimony and the hearing video here.

Mammo May: Early Detection Saves Lives

Continuing to build awareness on the importance of early breast cancer detection, the Pennsylvania Senate announced a Senate Resolution recognizing May 2026 as Mammography Month in Pennsylvania.

The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 322,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer nationwide this year. In Pennsylvania alone, an average of 38 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every single day. Alarmingly, nearly one in four women aged 50 to 74 have not received a mammogram in the past two years, despite strong evidence that early detection drastically improves outcomes.

Behind every mammogram is a life, a family and a future, which is why we continue to work with the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition to spread the word that early detection of breast cancer through mammograms saves lives. Mammograms are available at no cost in Pennsylvania. If you haven’t yet, use Mammo May as a reminder to schedule your mammogram – and please spread the word to the women in your life. This PA Breast Cancer Coalition resource page walks you through the steps of the mammogram process.

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