This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

All aboard the Momnibus! This week, lawmakers in the state House advanced several pieces of legislation from the Black Maternal Health Caucus’ “Momnibus” bill package – which aims to reduce maternal mortality rates and improve maternal health. The measures passed as part of the bill package include legislation to extend Medicaid coverage to doula services, and another bill that requires Medicaid to cover blood pressure monitors for pregnant and postpartum enrollees. Other bills in the package still await votes. 

Just dropped: another federal judicial appointment. U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman announced this week that President Joe Biden nominated Judge Joseph F. Saporito Jr. to serve on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Saporito, who has served in Luzerne County and northeastern Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years, served as a part-time assistant public defender in the Office of the Public Defender for Luzerne County from 1985 to 2015, while concurrently maintaining a private legal practice at Saporito & Saporito and then Saporito, Saporito & Falcone.

A bill designed to keep the right medications in the right paws is on its way to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. House Bill 1611, championed by state Rep. Carl Metzgar, passed in the House and Senate in Harrisburg this week, virtually ensuring that a ban on the animal tranquilizer Xylazine will go into effect. Known as tranq, Xylazine has expanded into the illicit drug market. But soon enough, tranq will be criminalized and possession will be a felon offense, with the exception of those using it for veterinary purposes. 

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has fined the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, also known as PHEAA, for alleged “multi-year servicing failures.” According to the federal agency, PHEAA reportedly “failed to respond to borrowers seeking relief from student loan payments,” resulting in a $1.75 million fine for the Pennsylvania-based financial aid agency. That money will go into a fund designed to provide money to people who are impacted by violations of consumer financial protection laws.

Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry has made a name for himself spouting oft-debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and more. This time around, the 10th District representative finds himself defending comments he made during a closed-door briefing with lawmakers this week. According to CNN, Perry claimed the Ku Klux Klan is “the military wing of the Democratic party” and that migrants coming to the US “have no interest in being Americans” – comments that mirror the “replacement theory” idea that white people are being slowly and intentionally replaced by minorities and immigrants. We’re a bit wary of that, Perry.

Help is wanted in York County yet again after the city’s latest election director resigned following the April 23 primary election. Julie Haertsch, the director of the county’s Elections and Voter Registration office, resigned to focus on her health this week after being on medical leave for the last few months, the York Daily Record reports. According to the York Dispatch, Haertsch is the third elections director in the county to leave the role since 2020.