Pennsylvania State Senator Introduces Ban on Kratom Sales to Minors

A Pennsylvania state legislator is spearheading a bill to more stringently regulate the sale of the painkiller kratom.

The Kratom Consumer Protection Act, sponsored by state Senator Tracy Pennycuick (R-Red Hill), would ban the substance’s purveyance to anyone aged 21 or younger. The legislation would also limit the product’s potency, bar its combination with controlled chemicals and require its display of “adequate labeling directions for… safe and effective use….” 

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While Pennsylvania Labor Secretary Pushes Minimum Wage Hike, Few Workers Make Only $7.25 an Hour

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) officials testified before state senators Tuesday, requesting an increase in the department’s budget as well as a hike in the commonwealth’s minimum wage. 

Governor Josh Shapiro’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 spending proposal envisions an 11.4-percent rise in L&I’s allocation to $89.8 million. The agency’s acting secretary Nancy Walker also asked lawmakers to consider backing the governor’s goal to raise the Keystone State’s legal wage floor to $15 per hour. 

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Shapiro Says Pennsylvania Republican Lawmakers ‘Are Praising’ His Budget Proposal While Omitting Criticisms

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) is already claiming high-ranking Republicans “are praising” his first budget. Those Republicans’ actual remarks tell a different story.

A press release from the governor selectively quotes eight GOP state lawmakers’ reactions to the budget he unveiled last week. While the snippets accurately capture areas of agreement, they leave out decidedly negative sentiments the Republicans voiced about the $45.9 billion plan which would hike state spending by about four percent over the current level. 

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Party Control of Pennsylvania House Will Come Down to Two Undecided Races

As the week of Election Day 2022 draws to a close, it remains uncertain whether Republicans or Democrats will have the helm of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the next two years, with two southeastern races to decide the outcome. 

Pennsylvania has 203 legislative districts and electoral contests have been clinched by one major party or the other in 201 of them. Democrats prevailed in 101 of those races, meaning the GOP needs to win both of the still undetermined seats in order to keep control of the General Assembly’s lower chamber. 

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