A co-sponsorship memo currently circulating may bring some financial certainty to the world of ride-share drivers. Rep. Maria Donatucci (D-Philadelphia) is currently seeking support for a minimum wage for drivers who work for transportation network companies, or TNCs, like Uber and Lyft.
 
Donatucci published the memo late last month. Drivers across Pennsylvania have complained to legislators and others that uncertain wages from trips create anxiety and make them less likely to continue working.

Speaking on the floor of the House last week, House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) urged colleagues to push legislation across the finish line to advance an agreed-upon budget between Republican leadership and Gov. Tom Wolf.

 

The budget passed both chambers on time, but even with an agreed-upon spending plan, Republicans and Democrats still have a wish list of policy goals that they hope to address in September when the General Assembly reconvenes.

The House voted Tuesday to approve a $33.9 billion spending bill for the 2019-20 fiscal year despite the repeated objections of many Democrats, who pushed to turn the debate towards a raise to the state’s minimum wage.

Citing concerns ranging from eliminating the General Assistance program to the lack of a minimum wage increase to support for public education that didn’t go far enough, all-in-all, 62 members, including seven Republicans, voted not to support the budget. 

The House voted Tuesday to approve the $33.9 billion General Appropriations budget, sending it to the Senate, who are set to follow suit later in the week.

The budget bill is agreed to by both chambers, as well as by Gov. Tom Wolf. But there are still no shortage of loose ends to tie up outside that bill, with lawmakers and the Wolf Administration still in discussions on a range of issues present in the numerous code bills set to be passed in the coming days.

A resolution urging the US Congress to ratify a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada quickly sparked a floor debate Thursday about whether or not to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania.

 

House Democrats took issue with the Republican-backed resolution because the trade deal requires Mexican auto workers make at least $16 per hour for the country to avoid US tariffs.