A widely popular bill that would protect the rights of domestic violence victims could very well be stalled in the state Senate due to a controversial amendment.
HB1796 was originally a bill that ensured domestic violence victims would not be in danger of losing their homes regardless of the amount of times that they call the police for help. Currently in Pennsylvania, there is a specified limit of times that a tenant can call the police before they are evicted.
The bill, which is a part of the broader PA’s Womens Health Agenda, passed with a vast majority in the state House, where it was then passed on to the Senate.
In the Senate, an amendment was added by the Senate Local Government Committee known as the preemption bill, and was introduced by Sen. John Eichelberger. The preemption bill states that no municipality has the right to enforce paid sick leave laws on local employers — which, in essence, means that employees could not be guaranteed any sick leave benefits by law.
The preemption amendment changes the very essence of HB1796. Although it passed with wide support in the House, it could very well be knocked down in the Senate.
Senators will be forced to weigh the benefits of passing a bill that protects the rights of battered women while also jeopardizing sick leave benefits for workers. For many, the amendment could turn out to be a deal breaker.
The Senate State Government Committee is chaired by the Republican Sen. Lloyd K. Smucker, and the State Senate possesses a Republican majority.
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6 Responses
IT’S HIGH TIME THE MEMBERS AND I MEAN ALL THE MEMBERS OF UNIONS START TO RALLY AND RID OUR LEGISLATURE OF ALL THE RICH COMPANY OWNERS AND LAWYERS WHO REPRESENT THE HIGH ECHELON OF MONEY MONGERS. IKE HAS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TOMASSETI AND MELING GOT TO GO ALSO. U AND I ARE THE GUTS OF A UNION. LET’S TAKE THEM OUT!!!!!!!!!!!
I like Ike! I am a victim of the law being abused. I lost my house, my possessions and most importantly my 2 children. I also was forced to change my job. I coached youth baseball, youth football, youth wrestling and I served a board member for the youth wrestling program. My ex was hateful and still has not gotten over the fact that I was not in love with her anymore. I will never donate to the United Way or the Women’s Resource Center ever again. Thank you John Eichelberger for standing up for people like me.
This is despicable. There is no relationship between those two topics and clearly the only reason the amendment was added was to guarantee failure of the bill. This is why people think there is a Republican war on women – because of actions like this that are just plain mean-spirited towards females.
The amendment violates the state constitution’s ban on legislation relating to more than one topic. Legislators seem to have forgotten this. Why hasn’t the amendment been stricken from the bill?
This just shows you the true nature of Republicans. They will always place politics and the Koch Brothers before the safety and lives of the victims of domestic violence. They just don’t care who they hurt
Eichelberger is no Teabagger, so he is obviously on the Take from the Kochs or ALEC. What a corrupt, evil SOB, to attach an unrelated Power Grab to a humanitarian law. Burn in hell, since you have sold your soul.