Press Releases
Legislation Would Change PA Truancy Laws After Berks Mom Dies in Prison
HARRISBURG, June 20, 2014 – State Sens. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery) and Judy Schwank (D-Berks) today announced changes they are proposing to state law following the death of a Reading woman while she was jailed for truancy charges in Berks County Prison. Eileen...
Good News: Property Tax/Rent Rebate Deadline Extended, Says Sen. Schwank
READING, June 12, 2014 – People who depend on state property tax or rent rebates now have another six months to submit an application for the money, state Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks) said today after being notified by the Department of Revenue. Applicants now have...
Another Berks Co. Farm Preserved, Sen. Schwank Reports
HARRISBURG, June 12, 2014 – A 25-acre Berks County farm has become the latest to be protected from future development under the state’s farmland preservation program, Sen. Judy Schwank said today. The John and Marie Hill farm in Perry Township was added to the fold...
Schwank to Propose Bill to Help Low-Income Women With Children
HARRISBURG, June 3, 2014 – To encourage low-income families with children to enter and stay in the work force, Sen. Judy Schwank today said she will introduce legislation excluding a larger share of their earnings in determining eligibility for state Temporary...
Schwank to Host Muhlenberg Town Hall
READING, May 27, 2014 – Residents of the Muhlenberg Township and Alsace areas of Berks County will have the opportunity at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 29, to share their thoughts and concerns with state Sen. Judy Schwank during her next town hall meeting. “We are coming...
Revised Prescription Registry Earns Sen. Schwank’s Approval; Says Bill Would Help Prevent Addictions, Heroin Use
HARRISBURG, May 6, 2014 – State Sen. Judy Schwank today voted in favor of a bill to create a prescription drug monitoring program that would increase the quality of patient care, give health care consumers a better record of the drugs they have been prescribed, and...
Sen. Schwank Says $1.25M Heading to Berks County Recycling Programs
HARRISBURG, May 6, 2014 – More Berks County residents will be able to recycle more of their consumer waste with the awarding of $1.25 million from Pennsylvania’s Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act. “Since Act 101 was implemented in 1988, the...
Sen. Schwank Says Action Needed Now to Combat Heroin Use in Schools
HARRISBURG, May 5, 2014 – In response to the arrests today of 13 mostly underage Berks County residents by Pennsylvania State Police, state Sen. Judy Schwank issued the following statement: “I am grateful for the excellent investigative work of the Berks County...
Sen. Schwank Reminds College Students, High School Seniors About PHEAA Deadline
READING, April 22, 2014 – Students planning to attend college or return to a post-secondary institution and need help paying for it have until May 1 to apply for a state grant through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, or PHEAA, state Sen. Judy...
Schwank to Host Wyomissing Town Hall Meeting, Present Berks Co. DA Adams
HARRISBURG, April 1, 2014 – State Sen. Judy Schwank will meet with constituents at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 3, during a town hall meeting in Wyomissing. “With only three months remaining before adopting a new state budget, this will be a great time to meet with...
Schwank, Labor, Local Officials Urge Adoption of Tax on Natural Gas Drilling to Fund Economic Development, Education, Environmental Protection
READING, March 27, 2014 – To improve the education of children, better protect Pennsylvania’s environment and spark long-awaited economic development, Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) today announced her support for new legislation that would impose a severance tax on...
Berks County Veterans Programs Awarded $37k in Grants, Sen. Schwank Announces
HARRISBURG, March 25, 2014 – Two Berks County organizations that work to help veterans have been awarded a total of $37,000 in grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, state Sen. Judy Schwank announced today. The Berks County...
Schwank to Host 4th Session of ‘Berks County Model Senate’
HARRISBURG, March 17, 2014 – Sen. Judy Schwank will deliver the fourth installment of her Berks County Model Senate beginning at noon, March 18, at Albright College. Schwank’s model senate gives students from 15 Berks County schools a first-hand glimpse of life as a...
Reading-based 333rd Engineering Company Coming Home Tuesday
Sen. Schwank urges residents to help salute their return HARRISBURG, March 10, 2014—The U.S. Army 333rdEngineering Company will return home from Afghanistan late Tuesday and conclude a nearly year-long deployment as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, state Sen. Judy...
Schwank: Veterans Designation Driver’s Licenses Now Available
HARRISBURG, March 4, 2014 — Pennsylvanians who have served in the armed forces can now apply for a driver license designation identifying them as veterans, state Sen. Judy Schwank announced today. “Fortunately, veterans are eligible for numerous discounts, benefits...
Sen. Schwank Urges Berks Co. Businesses, Schools, Local Governments to Apply for Alternative Fuels Grants
HARRISBURG, Feb. 28, 2014 – Help for school districts, local governments and businesses looking to stretch their energy budgets and conserve fuel are being urged today by state Sen. Judy Schwank to apply for a grant program opening March 1. Pennsylvania’s Alternative...
Community Leaders to Offer Expert Testimony During Schwank’s Model Senate Committee Hearings
HARRISBURG, February 28, 2014 – Sen. Judy Schwank will continue her Berks County Model Senate on Tuesday, March 4, at Albright College. This third session, which is being made up due to a prior weather-related postponement, will include “Senate committee hearings”...
Sen. Schwank Praises Approval of Tax Credits for Reading Residential Development Projects
HARRISBURG, Feb. 20, 2014 -- State Sen. Judy Schwank today hailed the recent approval by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency of nearly $1.4 million in low-income housing tax credits to support two housing development projects in the City of Reading. Schwank said...
Schwank: Berks Continues to Lead in Ag Preservation
HARRISBURG, February 19, 2014 – Nearly 700 additional acres of Berks County farmland will be preserved through the purchase of agricultural easements, state Sen. Judy Schwank announced today. “Adding more land to the acreage protected from development does more than...
Community Leaders To Testify During Schwank’s Model Senate Committee Hearings
HARRISBURG, Feb. 12, 2014 – Sen. Judy Schwank will give students from 15 Berks County schools another first-hand glimpse of life as a state lawmaker on Feb. 18 during the third of five sessions in her Berks County Model Senate. The third session will be held at...
Schwank Bill Would Keep Cities’ Ability to Charge Recycling Fees
HARRISBURG, Feb. 11, 2014 – State Senator Judy Schwank said today she will introduce legislation to preserve the authority of communities to use local fees to support their recycling programs. “For more than two decades, nobody questioned whether municipalities have...
Schwank’s ‘Revenge Porn’ Legislation Heading to House
HARRISBURG, Jan. 28, 2014 – The Pennsylvania Senate today unanimously approved state Sen. Judy Schwank’s bill to criminalize so-called “revenge porn,” and it did so as the young woman who sparked initiatives across the country to change state laws stood almost...
Sens. Schwank, Blake Team Up to Help Struggling PA Cities
HARRISBURG, Jan. 15, 2014 – To improve performance and brighten the economic future for more of Pennsylvania’s struggling cities, state Sens. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) and John Blake (D-Lackawanna) today introduced legislation to expand a new program designed to drive...
Sen. Schwank’s Intimate Partner Harassment Bill Clears Committee
HARRISBURG, Jan. 14, 2013 – Legislation introduced by Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) that would make Pennsylvania the third state in the country to criminalize so-called “revenge porn” cleared a key state panel today. The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to...
Schwank, Blake to Propose Expansion of City-Revitalizing Legislation
HARRISBURG, Jan. 14, 2014 – Sen. Judy Schwank and Sen. John Blake will hold a press conference at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 15, in the Capitol to unveil a bill that would expand the state’s new City Revitalization and Improvement Zones. Lancaster and Bethlehem were...
Family Physicians Pick Schwank as Co-Legislator of the Year
HARRISBURG, Jan. 9, 2014 – The statewide organization representing 5,500 doctors, residents and students of family medicine has picked state Sen. Judy Schwank for its “2014 Legislator of the Year” award. The Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians said it picked the...
Schwank to Help Oley American Legion Make ‘Sandwiches for the Homeless’
READING, Jan. 9, 2014 – Sen. Judy Schwank will join members of the Oley American Legion Post 878 at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 11, to help make sandwiches as part of the group’s “Sandwiches for the Homeless” program. The Oley Legion makes sandwiches every month for...
Sen. Schwank Voices Approval of Decision Delaying Small Games Reporting
HARRISBURG, Jan. 2, 2014 – State Sen. Judy Schwank today said she was glad to hear the commonwealth has decided to again delay implementation of new reporting requirements for organizations that operate small games of chance in Berks County and throughout...
878 Additional Acres of Berks County Farmland Preserved, Sen. Schwank Reports
HARRISBURG, Dec. 12, 2013 – Pennsylvania’s 25-year-old agricultural land preservation movement acted today to protect another 878 acres of Berks County farmland, Sen. Judy Schwank said. “Nine more tracts of prime Berks County farmland are now protected from...
New Special Education Funding Formula Wins Sen. Schwank’s Approval
HARRISBURG, Dec. 12, 2013 – State Sen. Judy Schwank said today she is pleased with a special commission’s recommendation to change Pennsylvania’s formula for financing special education. The Special Education Funding Reform Commission released a long-awaited report...
Sen. Schwank Unveils Legislation to Stop Intimate Partner Harassment
HARRISBURG, Dec. 11, 2013 – Legislation introduced today by state Sen. Judy Schwank would make online posting of naked or sexually explicit images of former intimate partners a crime in Pennsylvania. The bill would make the offense a third-degree felony if the victim...
Sen. Schwank Honored With PVMA’s President’s Award for ‘Tireless Work’ On Agriculture, Animal Issues
HARRISBURG, Dec. 10, 2013 – The Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association today bestowed its prestigious “President’s Award” to state Sen. Judy Schwank. PVMA said it picked the Berks County Democrat because of her “tireless work to raise awareness about agricultural...
Schwank to Host ‘Elected Municipal Officials’ Meeting’
READING, Dec. 9, 2013 – Sen. Judy Schwank will hold her “Elected Municipal Officials’ Meeting” for new and current officials at 7:30 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 12, in Wyomissing. This event will give officials the opportunity to obtain information about current legislation...