{"id":115514,"date":"2023-01-11T21:37:23","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T02:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=115514"},"modified":"2023-01-11T21:37:23","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T02:37:23","slug":"boscola-offers-amendments-to-give-voters-a-voice-on-reproductive-freedom-school-property-tax-elimination-and-to-expand-non-discrimination-protections-in-state-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=115514","title":{"rendered":"Boscola Offers Amendments to Give Voters a Voice on Reproductive Freedom, School Property Tax Elimination and to Expand Non-Discrimination Protections in State Constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harrisburg, PA \u2013 January 11, 2023 <\/strong>\u2013 State Senator Lisa M. Boscola today offered amendments to Senate Bill 1 that would give voters the opportunity to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to protect an individual\u2019s right to reproductive freedom, eliminate the local school property tax and to expand the classes of individuals protected under the Constitution\u2019s non-discrimination clause.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always favored hearing from the people,\u201d Senator Boscola stated. \u00a0\u201cOur power in this body emanates from them, it is the basis of our Constitution. \u00a0I trust the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the consideration of Senate Bill 1, which would place 3 constitutional amendments before the voters of the Commonwealth, Boscola offered separate amendments to the bill that would allow the voters to amend the State Constitution.<\/p>\n

First, Senator Boscola offered an amendment in response to the US Supreme Court\u2019s decision that placed abortion rights in the hands of the states.\u00a0 Specifically, the Boscola amendment would protect an individual\u2019s right to reproductive freedom in Pennsylvania including the right to an abortion, prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, miscarriage management and infertility.<\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on the situation, citizens of this Commonwealth face these reproductive choices alone or with the support of family or friends,\u201d Boscola stated. \u201cUnder this amendment, an individual making these decisions will not have our legislature make that for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second, Senator Boscola offered an amendment to amend the Constitution to eliminate real property taxes for homesteads and farmsteads after June 30, 2028, and require the legislature to come up with a plan to replace those revenues.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere we are, with the so-called purpose of moving these constitutional amendments so early in the session to meet the \u201cpriorities\u201d of the people,\u201d Boscola stated. \u00a0\u201cTo me, there is no greater priority to every homeowner and farm owner in Pennsylvania than removing the back breaking tax of school property taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time we modernize the way we pay for our schools,\u201d Boscola added. We all talk about how student\u2019s zip codes shouldn\u2019t determine the quality of a student\u2019s education. The only way we will fix this broken, antiquated system is if we are required to. This session we seem to have several constitutional amendments that are high priorities for members of the legislature. This amendment would be a high priority for every homeowner and farm owner in this Commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, Senator Boscola offered an amendment to amend the Constitution to expand the number of classes that would be protected under the Constitution\u2019s non-discrimination clause to include sexual identity, sexual orientation, identity or expression, national origin, the color of one\u2019s skin, age, ancestry, religious creed, familial status, or disability. Boscola noted that the Commonwealth\u2019s voters are supportive and familiar with providing these protections based on the fact that in 2021, voters approved an amendment to prohibit discrimination based on race and ethnicity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is equally important that this chamber give Pennsylvanian\u2019s the ability to answer this question as well, and prohibit discrimination based on these classifications,\u201d Boscola said. \u201cIt is our duty as legislators to protect all Pennsylvanians and ensure they receive equal treatment under the law. This amendment aims to do exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the three amendments were tabled by a vote of 27-21.\u00a0 The Senate Democrats once again stood together to try and move forward issues of importance to the people of Pennsylvania while the Republican caucus stood together to stop these important issues from being considered.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who knows me knows that I will never give the up to fight to protect reproductive freedom, eliminate the local school property tax and prohibit discrimination against our residents,\u201d Boscola stated after the votes to table her amendments.\u00a0 \u201cI believe in the voters of the Pennsylvania to do the right thing.\u00a0 It is why I support ballot initiatives and referendums to give the power to the people and take it out of the hands of politicians who refuse to do what it is in the best interest of our citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nKurt J. Derr
\nOffice of Senator Lisa Boscola
\nOne East Broad Street, Suite 120
\nBethlehem, PA 18018<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harrisburg, PA \u2013 January 11, 2023 \u2013 State Senator Lisa M. Boscola today offered amendments to Senate Bill 1 that would give voters the opportunity to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution … Continue reading Boscola Offers Amendments to Give Voters a Voice on Reproductive Freedom, School Property Tax Elimination and to Expand Non-Discrimination Protections in State Constitution<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Lisa-Boscola.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115514"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/112559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}