Press Releases
Schwank to Chair Public Health & Welfare, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committees
Reading, December 29, 2016 Sen. Judy Schwank will serve as the Democratic Chair of the Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee, as well as continue her post as the Democratic Chair of the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, Sen. Jay Costa...
Scrape Eggs to Control the Spotted Lanternfly
Harrisburg, December 14, 2016 In conjunction with Penn State Extension, Sen. Judy Schwank has released an instructional video demonstrating how to kill spotted lanternfly eggs. The spotted lanternfly is an invasive pest that state officials worry could damage the...
Schwank Named to Leadership
Harrisburg, December 8, 2016 − Senator Judy Schwank was named the Democratic vice-chair of the Senate Appropriations committee by Senate Democratic leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny). The committee is the legislative panel charged with allocating billions of taxpayer...
Sen. Schwank and Rep. Gillen Announce $1.6 Million State Investment in Berks
HARRISBURG, December 6, 2016 – Two Berks County economic development/transportation enhancement projects will receive much needed boosts thanks to $1.6 million in Multimodal Transportation Fund grant funding approved today by the Commonwealth Financing Authority. The...
More Than $40,000 Awarded to Berks Schools
Harrisburg, November 4, 2016 – State Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks) announced that two Berks County educational organizations have been awarded state grants totaling $40,577. The grants are for the training and compensation of school resource officers and school...
$500,000 Awarded to RACC
Harrisburg, October 28, 2016 – Today Gov. Tom Wolf awarded $500,000 in Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) to renovate Reading Area Community College’s science laboratory, State Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks), Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-126th...
Senate Passes Truancy Bill
Harrisburg – October 26, 2016 − The State Senate today approved bipartisan legislation authored by Senators Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery) and Judy Schwank (D-Berks) that would significantly change the state’s truancy laws. The legislation, spurred by the 2014 death...
Schwank Announces $180,000 in State Grants to Improve Recreation in the 11th Senate District
Harrisburg – October 24, 2016 – State Senator Judith L. Schwank today announced that two Berks County municipalities, Laureldale Borough and Exeter Township, have been approved by the Commonwealth Financing Authority for $180,000 in grant funding through the...
Senator Judy Schwank Sponsoring Two College Financial Aid Events This Week
Harrisburg, October 17, 2016 – On Wednesday, October 19, 2016, beginning at 7 p.m., Senator Judy Schwank is sponsoring her annual College Financial Aid Awareness Seminar in the Commissioners Board Room of the Muhlenberg Township Building, 210 George Street, Reading,...
Schwank Legislation Supporting Women with Post-Partum Depression Clears Committee
Harrisburg – Sept. 28, 2016 – Legislation sponsored by Senator Judy Schwank that would provide early intervention services for infants and mothers when the mother is affected by post-partum depression received unanimous support today from the Senate committee on...
Schwank Introduces Legislation Shielding Farms from Realty Transfer Tax
Harrisburg – Sept. 27, 2016 – State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) today introduced legislation to reinstate a decades old program that exempts agricultural conservation easements from Pennsylvania’s Realty Transfer Tax (RTT). The proposed bill would provide exemptions...
Schwank, Jozwiak: State Grant Paves Way for New Industrial Development, Jobs
Harrisburg, September 16, 2016 − More than $2.5 million in grant funds from Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) will be used to transform a brownfield site near the Reading Regional Airport in Bern Township into an industrial park, State...
Schwank: Two Berks County Farms Help Pennsylvania Reach Land Preservation Milestone
Harrisburg – Aug. 24, 2016 – State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) congratulated the owners of two Berks County farms who joined the ranks of more than 5,000 Pennsylvania farms preserved through the efforts of the State Agricultural Land Preservation Board. “Berks County...
Upgrades for Reading Waste Water Treatment Facility Approved by PENNVEST
Harrisburg - Aug. 11, 2016 - Upgrades at Reading's Fritz Island Waste Water Treatment Facility will be completed thanks to $27.1 million in additional funding from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST), state Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) said...
Schwank Looks Forward to Future of Hemp Industry in Pennsylvania
Harrisburg - July 22, 2016 - Legislation recently signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf legalizing the growing of industrial hemp in Pennsylvania represents a significant step forward for the agricultural industry in Pennsylvania, State Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks)...
State Infrastructure Loan for Reading Airport Industrial/Business Park
HARRISBURG — July 1, 2016 — The Berks County Industrial Development Authority (BCIDA) was approved today by the Commonwealth Financing Authority for a state low-interest Business In Our Sites (BIOS) loan in the amount of $1,119,709 to improve electrical infrastructure...
Berks County Environmental Groups Approved for $470k State Investment, Sen. Schwank, Reps. Caltagirone, Rozzi Announce
HARRISBURG, July 1, 2016 – Three regional conservation, watershed protection, and civic improvement groups will receive a total of $470,000 in new state investments for their ongoing efforts to protect and enhance the outdoor experience for Berks County residents....
Sen. Schwank, Reps. Caltagirone, Rozzi Announce A Nearly $1 million State Investment to Improve Skyline Drive
HARRISBURG, July 1, 2016 – Historic Skyline Drive will soon be receiving much needed upgrades thanks to a $969,298 Multimodal Transportation Fund grant approved today by the Commonwealth Financing Authority to reconstruct a 2.4 mile stretch of Skyline Drive in Alsace...
Frankel, Schwank Praise Supreme Court Decision on Texas Anti-Abortion Law
HARRISBURG, June 27, 2016 – Two co-chairs of the legislature's Women's Health Caucus praised today's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a Texas abortion law that caused all but a few clinics there to close. The number of clinics in Pennsylvania also dropped...
State Senate Roundtable in Muhlenberg Twp. Focuses on Zika Virus
Reading - June 9, 2016 - At the request of state Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks), the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a roundtable discussion today on Pennsylvania's Zika Virus response plan that focused on measures available for state, local and health officials...
Schwank: Additional Farmland in Berks County to be Preserved
Harrisburg - June 9, 2016 - The Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board today approved an additional 194 acres of Berks County farmland for preservation, state Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) said today. "The farmland preservation program is so vitally important...
Schwank’s POW-MIA Flag Legislation Clears Senate Committee
Harrisburg – June 8, 2016 – Legislation sponsored by state Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks), requiring the POW-MIA flag to be flown on state grounds is one step closer to becoming law today after a unanimous vote by the Senate State Government Committee. Schwank praised...
Schwank Applauds Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program Extension
Harrisburg – June 6, 2016 – State Senator Judy Schwank today announced that the filing deadline for Pennsylvania’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate program has been extended from June 30 to Dec. 31, 2016. “More than half a million Pennsylvanians took advantage of the Property...
Senate Democrats Outline Legislation to Combat Opioid and Heroin Crisis
Harrisburg, May 18, 2016 – With drug overdose deaths reaching epidemic levels, Senate Democrats unveiled legislation today to address the opioid addiction crisis from prevention through recovery. “Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate and there is no easy...
Bill Would Provide Early Intervention for Mothers Suffering from Postpartum Depression
HARRISBURG, May 17, 2016 – Newborn and infant children of mothers affected by postpartum depression (PPD) would be eligible for early intervention services under legislation introduced today by Sens. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) and Camera Bartolotta (R-Washington). Senate...
Senate Approves Schwank Bill to Keep Parents Out of Jail for Delinquent Truancy Fines
HARRISBURG, May 10, 2016 – Sparked by the tragic death of a Berks County mom who died after being imprisoned for her child’s delinquent truancy fines, Sen. Judy Schwank has won the Pennsylvania Senate’s approval of a bipartisan bill to keep parents from this...
Sen. Schwank Announces Fire/EMS Grant Awards for Berks County 1st Responders
READING, April 25, 2016 – More than five dozen Berks County EMS and fire companies will receive state grants totaling more than $840,000 to help with training, equipment purchases and construction or renovation of facilities, Sen. Judy Schwank announced today. Twelve...
More than 70k Acres of Berks County Farmland Now Protected, Sen. Schwank Says
HARRISBURG, April 14, 2016 – The number of acres of Berks County agricultural land protected by Pennsylvania’s farmland preservation program eclipsed 70,000 today, state Sen. Judy Schwank said. The milestone happened when the Pennsylvania Agricultural Land...
Statewide Drug Addiction Study Proposed by Schwank Ordered by PA Senate
HARRISBURG, April 4, 2016 – The Pennsylvania Senate today unanimously approved Sen. Judy Schwank’s resolution for an advisory task force to find better ways to address drug addiction and treatment. “I believe the task force will find that Pennsylvania needs better...
Business Tips, Advice on Tap Wednesday During Sen. Schwank’s ‘W.E. R.O.A.R. Summit’
READING, March 28, 2016 – Women business owners and entrepreneurs will have the unique opportunity to learn how to grow their businesses Wednesday, March 30, during a special seminar in Reading sponsored by Sen. Judy Schwank and a group of private and public partners....
‘Retirement Not The End of Judicial Reform,’ Sens. Williams, Schwank Say as They Demand Action on Judicial Reform Proposals, Punishment for Those Involved
HARRISBURG, March 22, 2016 – On the plaza of the state government building that houses Pennsylvania’s highest appellate courts, state Sens. Anthony Hardy Williams and Judy Schwank called for renewed efforts to improve the accountability of commonwealth justices and...
Sens. Schwank, Williams to Urge Action on Judicial Reform Proposals
HARRISBURG, March 21, 2016 – Two of Pennsylvania’s leading legislative voices for better performance and oversight of the commonwealth’s judicial system will hold a press conference at 11 a.m., tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22, to call for judicial performance and...
Schwank’s Hemp Bill Sails Through Senate
HARRISBURG, March 16, 2016 – State Sen. Judy Schwank’s proposal to return hemp as a legal, cash crop in Pennsylvania was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate today. Senate Bill 50, which Schwank and Sen. Mike Folmer introduced more than a year ago, was approved by...