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| Legislative Report |
| The latest news from the State Capitol |
New Belle Vernon and California Office Locations Opening Soon
Effective April 1, we will be opening a new Belle Vernon district office and a new satellite office in California (Center in the Woods). In addition, the current Bentleyville district office will close on Friday, March 29.
Each of these changes is part of our ongoing effort to reduce operating costs and improve efficiencies, while maintaining the highest level of constituent service for residents of the 49th Legislative District. During my first term in office, we saved Pennsylvania taxpayers more than $12,500 by taking services directly to the constituents and other prudent tax saving management practices.
Fulfilling my responsibilities as an effective and accessible public servant will always be my top priority. The people of the 49th District should know that my team and I are here to do everything we possibly can to meet and exceed your expectations both at home and in Harrisburg while reducing the cost of services delivered. Most importantly, I invite everyone to stop by or give us a call because we are here to serve you!
District office contact information and operating hours are as follows:
Belle Vernon
10 Main St. Belle Vernon, PA 17745
Phone: (724) 669-2242
Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
California, Center in the Woods (Satellite Office)
130 Woodland Court
Brownsville, PA 15417
Phone: (724) 669-2242
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Closed Thursday.
Available services include assisting District 49 residents with PennDOT paperwork, driver’s license and vehicle registration applications and renewals; information and applications for senior citizen benefit programs, including Property Tax/Rent Rebate and PACE/PACENET prescription drug programs; securing birth and death certificates (photo identification required); organizing tours of the State Capitol; copies of legislation; and many others.
For the latest district event information and state government updates, visit RepBudCook.com and Facebook.com/RepBudCook.
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District 49 Emergency Responders Awarded More Than $287,650
Twenty-three volunteer fire and ambulance companies throughout the 49th Legislative District have qualified to receive approximately $287,657 from a grant program administered by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and Office of the State Fire Commissioner.
Click here for the list of local recipients.
This grant program has provided millions of dollars over the years to help our volunteers better equip their stations, pay down debt or afford capital projects. I am a strong proponent of volunteerism in many forms, because volunteer service is all about communities coming together and relying on themselves rather than looking to government for answers.
These men and women dedicate countless hours to training to keep their rescue and response skills honed and this grant program is just one way in which we can assist their efforts to keep us safe.
All funding comes from the proceeds from slot machine gaming, and not General Fund tax revenue. Projects eligible for funding include construction or renovation of a fire or ambulance company facility, purchase or repair of equipment, training, or reduction of existing debt.
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DEP Starts Statewide Surveillance of Ticks
The Department of Environmental Protection is beginning a five-year environmental surveillance of ticks to assess the risk of tickborne illnesses across Pennsylvania.
The study is taking place in every county in Pennsylvania to track ticks’ habitats, life stages and peak activity levels and to test them for human pathogenic diseases.
The surveillance will focus on collecting three tick species: the blacklegged tick in its immature nymphal stage, when it most often infects humans with Lyme disease, as well as human babesiosis and human granulocytic anaplasmosis; the adult American dog (Dermacentor variabilis) tick, which transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia; and the adult lone star (Amblyomma americanum) tick, which transmits ehrlichiosis and tularemia.
The project is being funded through the Department of Health.
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Setting Up Tomorrow’s Leaders for Career Success
Working to ensure Pennsylvania students have a diverse array of career paths from which to choose, the state House overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan package of bills this week designed to boost career and technical education (CTE) at schools across the Commonwealth.
The initiatives are a cornerstone of the House Republican Caucus’ #GoodJobs4PA initiative aimed at ensuring all Pennsylvanians have access to good-paying jobs and careers.
To help students plot their path to success, there are bills that would allow technical schools to recruit students like colleges do; make it easier for students to see where credits transfer; create a database of workforce development programs at secondary and post-secondary institutions; create an online career resource center; and allow students who complete classes in STEM education to apply the credits to a course through a vocational-technical school, technical institution or vocational school.
The package is also aimed at improving business and education partnerships by creating a CTE investment incentive program, requiring CTE programs to establish advisory committees and having at least once administrator from a CTE center on each of the state’s Workforce Development Boards.
The bills now go to the Senate for consideration. Learn more about #GoodJobs4PA here.
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| Office Locations |
| Big Jim Plaza, LLC, 55 Gosai Drive, Suite 112, Bentleyville PA 15314 | 724-669-2242, 724-669-2290, 724-669-2293 | Fax: 724-669-2296 |
| B-15 Main Capitol, PO Box 202049, Harrisburg PA 17120-2049 | (717) 783-8655 / 3-8655 |
| Email Address: BCook@pahousegop.com |
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