House Local Government Committee reports three resolutions, including Local Government Week and a Berks County anniversary year

The House Local Government Committee at its meeting reported three resolutions to the House floor, including a resolution designating a Berks County anniversary year and one recognizing Local Government Week.

Chairman Freeman opened the session and introduced the items, saying he did not expect extensive debate: "I don't think any of them are really controversial, and I don't anticipate we will have to spend a whole lot of time going through them," he said. John Castelli summarized the first measure, House Resolution 431, saying it would "designate 03/11/2026 as Berks County 274th anniversary day in Pennsylvania."

Committee members adopted amendment A02856 to HR 431, which, according to Castelli, "would revise the resolution to designate the period of 03/11/2026 through 03/11/2027 as Berks County 275th anniversary year." The amendment was adopted by voice vote and the chair announced it "unanimously passes." The committee then voted to report the amended HR 431 to the full House; the chair called the question and the roll of responses produced a single recorded no vote by Representative Wendy Fink.

The committee next considered House Resolution 455, which recognizes April 19–25, 2026 as National Library Week in Pennsylvania. Kyle Schafer presented HR 455; after brief remarks and encouragement to support libraries, the committee voted to report the resolution to the floor. Representative Fink was recorded in the negative on that vote.

Chairman Freeman then brought forward House Resolution 465, sponsored by the chair, to designate April 13–17, 2026 as Local Government Week and April 2026 as Local Government Day in the Commonwealth. The committee heard brief remarks from members of the Burrows Association, who "urge[d] an affirmative vote" and thanked the committee for the recognition. Chairman Miller, a co-prime on the resolution, read sections of the text into the record highlighting local government as "the level of government closest to the people." The committee voted to report HR 465 to the House; Representative Fink again cast the only recorded negative vote.

The chair noted for the record that HR 465 was requested by the Department of Community and Economic Development on behalf of the Governor's Center for Local Government Services. With the business concluded, Chairman Freeman thanked members for their attendance and adjourned the meeting.

What happened next: The reported resolutions will be considered by the full House on a subsequent calendar; no dates for floor consideration were announced in the committee record.