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PA Senate and House Philadelphia Delegations Denounce ICE Violence, Reaffirm Support for Immigrant Communities, and Call for Action
In a joint statement, 18 Pennsylvania state senators and state representatives serving legislative districts across Philadelphia expressed solidarity with communities across the country fighting the influx of ICE violence and reiterated the need for state and local...
Federal bill would restore billions for Chinatown Stitch and other transportation projects
Congressman Brendan Boyle is co-sponsoring federal legislation to reverse part of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” and restore billions of dollars for Philadelphia’s Chinatown Stitch and other defunded transportation projects around the country....
ICE Officers Masking, Homelessness Prevention, On the Issues with Sen. Nikil Saval
ICE Officers Masking, Homelessness Prevention, On the Issues with Sen. Nikil Saval (D)
Pennsylvania Senate panel delves into charged debate over immigrant’s trucking license
Just weeks after federal authorities arrested an Uzbek terror suspect with a Pennsylvania-issued commercial driver’s license, state senators convened a fact-finding panel in Harrisburg to investigate the details — without directly addressing the widely publicized...
State senator makes second attempt to pass a right to read bill
The continuing right-wing assault on libraries, books and the right to read has left state legislators across the country scrambling to pass legislation protecting libraries and guarding against censorship. Pennsylvania can be included in that number. In 2023, State...
Rural or urban, homelessness still a struggle
Pennsylvania bailed on a carbon market to appease Republicans
Last month, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro withdrew from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI (pronounced “Reggie”), a cap-and-trade program that establishes a regional limit on carbon emissions from power plants located in the Northeast. Here’s how...
Pennsylvania’s home repair program left out of state budget, despite high demand
A multi-million dollar proposal designed to rehabilitate Pennsylvania’s aging housing stock failed to receive funding in the state’s 2025-2026 budget — marking the third year without a state-funded successor to the popular Whole Home Repair Program. Sen. Nikil Saval...
Pa. Dems seek law to unmask ICE agents amid immigration crackdown
HARRISBURG — Two Pennsylvania state senators want to make it illegal in the commonwealth for law enforcement, including federal agents, to wear masks and refuse to self-identify amid contentious operations and citizen protests over federal immigration enforcement....
Should ICE agents be allowed to mask? Not in Pa., state senators say
Federal immigration agents should have to show their faces while conducting raids and detaining people in Pennsylvania, argue two state senators who have offered up legislation to “unmask these authorities. Across the nation this year, agents with U.S. Immigrations...
National Homeless Rights Advocates Praise Democratic Pennsylvania Lawmakers’ ‘Shelter First’ Bill
November is National Hunger and Homelessness month and Democratic State Senator Nikil Saval and State Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El introduced sweeping legislation to protect the unhoused and their property from harassment by local and regional governments across the...
Senators Cappelletti and Saval Fight for Accountable Policing, Introduce Bill to Unmask Federal ICE Agents
Harrisburg, PA − November 24, 2025 – As Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents continue to ramp up their efforts to detain and arrest civilians, Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti (D-17, Montgomery/Delaware) and Senator Nikil Saval (D-1, Philadelphia) introduced...
Philadelphia leaders connect with transit advocates after long-awaited budget didn’t include funding for SEPTA
State and city public officials hosted a town hall Thursday to address transit funding, or the lack thereof, included in Pennsylvania’s budget, which was approved last week after a stalemate that lasted more than four months. State Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia,...
Free SEPTA fares for low-income riders could end next year. Advocates are pushing to save it.
SEPTA’s 21.5% increase in transit fares and service cuts fell hardest on disadvantaged Philadelphians this year, showing an urgent need to make the city’s Zero Fare program permanent, City Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke argues. He touted his proposal to dedicate 0.5%...
Around Town
Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced a bill that would bar municipalities from penalizing people for sleeping outdoors unless adequate indoor shelter is available. State Sen. Nikil Saval and Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, both Democrats, said the proposed Shelter First Act...
Sen. Saval, Rep. Smith-Wade-El Join Advocates in Announcing Introduction of Bill to Prevent the Criminalization of Homelessness
HARRISBURG, PA − November 18, 2025 − Citing the need for permanent solutions to the Commonwealth’s ongoing housing crisis, today State Senator Nikil Saval (D–Philadelphia) and State Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D–Lancaster) joined housing advocates to announce the introduction of the Shelter First Act, legislation to prevent the criminalization of homelessness in Pennsylvania.
Senator Saval Joins Legislators, Advocates in Announcing the Shelter First Act
Senator Saval Announces Shelter First Act to Protect People Experiencing Homelessness from Criminalization
Pennsylvania lawmakers to introduce bill that aims to prevent criminalization of homelessness
Pennsylvania lawmakers are set to introduce the Shelter First Act, which aims to prevent the criminalization of homelessness by requiring municipalities to provide indoor spaces for those experiencing homelessness before enforcing laws against living outside.
Senate Democratic Caucus Policy Committee Holds Hearing Regarding Supporting Home Care Workers & Consumers
PHILADELPHIA, PA − November 10, 2025 −Today, Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing to examine direct care employee wages, and the trends observed in the Commonwealth over the last decade. “Earlier this year, I walked a day in the life of a home care worker...