Committee advances bill to create Office of New Pennsylvanians amid budget objections
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Summary
House Bill 1113, which would establish an Office of New Pennsylvanians to coordinate services for immigrants and new residents, was reported from the State Government Committee. Proponents argued it would streamline services and aid economic growth; opponents raised concerns about adding costs during a reported budget deficit.
The State Government Committee voted to report House Bill 1113, which would establish the Office of New Pennsylvanians, an account and advisory committee to coordinate Commonwealth services for immigrants and new residents.
Representative Smith Waddell, sponsor of HB 1113, told the committee the office would “coordinate services that the Commonwealth provides to our new residents, in 1 office, coordinating with agencies and industry orgs,” and said the bill had the support of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce. Smith Waddell framed the measure as aligning Pennsylvania with its history of welcoming immigrants and as a way to reduce duplication across government.
Representative Leroy (identified in the transcript) urged a no vote, citing the state budget shortfall and saying “the budget had a $5,000,000,000 deficit when the governor made his budget proposal. This would add even more cost.” He also raised concerns about provisions on page 5 that would serve as a point of contact for licensing boards and whether that would create preferential treatment.
Representative Waxman spoke in favor, tying the measure to economic growth and saying revenue figures and the rainy-day fund mean “we have the resources available to fund this bill.” Other members expressed support and concern, but after debate the committee took a roll-call vote and reported the bill to the House.
What the bill would do According to the summary read into the record, HB 1113 establishes the Office of New Pennsylvanians, a restricted account for its operations, and an advisory committee; it assigns powers and duties for coordinating services. The summary and sponsor remarks also referenced coordination with licensing boards to reduce paperwork delays for credentialing.
Next steps The committee reported the measure to the House floor. The record shows the committee vote and that the bill was reported; any future fiscal notes, amendments, or floor votes are outside this meeting record.
