Latest news with #JudyWard
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
‘Got milk?' Pennsylvania milk delivery restrictions may be a thing of the past
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — The Pennsylvania Senate has passed legislation that will ensure that milk transportation is uninterrupted during bad weather and declared emergencies. The Milk Hauler Exemption Bill would allow haulers to operate during weather-related commercial vehicle driving bans and emergency declarations. Under Senate Bill 481, which was sponsored by Senator Judy Ward (R-30), those haulers would be permitted to move on highways 24 hours a day and seven days a week without restrictions. All drivers would have to do to be exempt from the restriction would be to have a one-time decal issued by the Pennsylvania Milk Board. US health officials seek to phase out artificial dyes from the food supply 'The dairy industry operates around the clock, and cows don't stop producing milk because of bad weather,' Ward said. 'This legislation ensures that our dairy farmers can get their product to market without unnecessary delays, preventing waste and supporting our agricultural economy.' The bill comes after concerns by local dairy farmers were raised due to products that had to be discarded. Ward noted that she spoke with farmers who had dumped milk during emergencies because of the driving restrictions. Ward added that she hopes that the bill will allow haulers to make informed decisions while also balancing public safety with the practical needs of the farmers. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. The bill had bipartisan support in the Senate and now heads to the House of Representatives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ -
CBS News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Pennsylvania Senate approves bill to ban transgender athletes in girls' sports
Pennsylvania's state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports at the collegiate and K-12 levels, although the Republican-penned bill is unlikely to get a vote in the state's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The bill passed, 32-18, with five Democrats crossing party lines to join with all 27 Republicans in voting "yes." The vote marked the second time the GOP-controlled Senate has passed it. An earlier attempt, in concert with a Republican-controlled House, met then-Gov. Tom Wolf's veto pen in 2022. This time, Senate Republicans are advancing the effort after President Donald Trump declared his intent to "keep men out of women's sports." and made it a major campaign issue in last year's election, dividing Democrats on how to respond. The bill applies to participation in girls' and women's sports that are sponsored by public schools, public universities and publicly chartered community colleges. It also prohibits any sort of government agency or athletic association from investigating or punishing a school or higher education institution for maintaining separate sports teams for girls or women. For well over an hour, Republicans and Democrats debated the bill, at times hotly. The sponsor, Sen. Judy Ward, a Republican from Blair County, said the bill would "ensure all young women have a fair chance to compete in the sports they love." Ward said that since 2020 in Pennsylvania, 37 female athletes have lost first place and another 13 lost second or third place, although she didn't say from where she drew the statistics. Pennsylvania's governing body for high school sports, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, said it was aware of just one transgender student currently participating in sports. Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, a Democrat from Allegheny County, called the bill discriminatory against transgender people, as well as "unnecessary, unwarranted and unconstitutional in my mind." Democrats warned that the bill will go nowhere in the House, and a spokesperson for House Democratic leaders accused Senate Republicans of being "more focused on divisive political theater and bullying kids for political points." Gov. Josh Shapiro's office did not respond to an inquiry Tuesday about the bill, although the Democrat has in the past expressed opposition to such bans, calling 2022's bill "nothing more than cruel, designed to discriminate against transgender youth who just want to play sports like their peers." Trump, as president, signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. In February, the PIAA changed its policy in a move that some officials said was designed to follow Trump's order, except that lawyers on both sides of the issue say the change in policy wording does nothing of the sort. Previously, the PIAA's policy had deferred to school principals to determine an athlete's "gender" when "questioned or uncertain." It changed the policy to defer to principals to determine a student's "sex" when "questioned or uncertain," and added a line that says that, in accordance with Trump's executive order, "schools are required to consult with their school solicitors relative to compliance with the order." In response to Trump's order, the NCAA revised its transgender participation policy to limit women's college sports to athletes assigned as female at birth. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, a governing body for smaller schools, effectively banned transgender athletes in 2023 from women's sports.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania Senate votes to ban transgender athletes in girls' sports, but bill faces uphill battle
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports at the collegiate and K-12 levels, although the Republican-penned bill is unlikely to get a vote in the state's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The bill passed, 32-18, with five Democrats crossing party lines to join with all 27 Republicans in voting 'yes.' The vote marked the second time the GOP-controlled Senate has passed it. An earlier attempt, in concert with a Republican-controlled House, met then-Gov. Tom Wolf's veto pen in 2022. This time, Senate Republicans are advancing the effort after President Donald Trump declared his intent to 'keep men out of women's sports.' and made it a major campaign issue in last year's election, dividing Democrats on how to respond. The bill applies to participation in girls' and women's sports that are sponsored by public schools, public universities and publicly chartered community colleges. It also prohibits any sort of government agency or athletic association from investigating or punishing a school or higher education institution for maintaining separate sports teams for girls or women. For well over an hour, Republicans and Democrats debated the bill, at times hotly. The sponsor, Sen. Judy Ward, a Republican from Blair County, said the bill would 'ensure all young women have a fair chance to compete in the sports they love.' Ward said that since 2020 in Pennsylvania, 37 female athletes have lost first place and another 13 lost second or third place, although she didn't say from where she drew the statistics. Pennsylvania's governing body for high school sports, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, said it was aware of just one transgender student currently participating in sports. Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, a Democrat from Allegheny County, called the bill discriminatory against transgender people, as well as 'unnecessary, unwarranted and unconstitutional in my mind." Democrats warned that the bill will go nowhere in the House, and a spokesperson for House Democratic leaders accused Senate Republicans of being 'more focused on divisive political theater and bullying kids for political points.' Gov. Josh Shapiro 's office did not respond to an inquiry Tuesday about the bill, although the Democrat has in the past expressed opposition to such bans, calling 2022's bill 'nothing more than cruel, designed to discriminate against transgender youth who just want to play sports like their peers.' Trump, as president, signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. In February, the PIAA changed its policy in a move that some officials said was designed to follow Trump's order, except that lawyers on both sides of the issue say the change in policy wording does nothing of the sort. Previously, the PIAA's policy had deferred to school principals to determine an athlete's 'gender' when 'questioned or uncertain.' It changed the policy to defer to principals to determine a student's "sex' when 'questioned or uncertain,' and added a line that says that, in accordance with Trump's executive order, 'schools are required to consult with their school solicitors relative to compliance with the order.' In response to Trump's order, the NCAA revised its transgender participation policy to limit women's college sports to athletes assigned as female at birth. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, a governing body for smaller schools, effectively banned transgender athletes in 2023 from women's sports. __ Follow Marc Levy on X at:
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Pennsylvania Senate votes to ban transgender athletes in girls' sports, but bill faces uphill battle
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports at the collegiate and K-12 levels, although the Republican-penned bill is unlikely to get a vote in the state's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The bill passed, 32-18, with five Democrats crossing party lines to join with all 27 Republicans in voting 'yes.' The vote marked the second time the GOP-controlled Senate has passed it. An earlier attempt, in concert with a Republican-controlled House, met then-Gov. Tom Wolf's veto pen in 2022 . This time, Senate Republicans are advancing the effort after President Donald Trump declared his intent to 'keep men out of women's sports.' and made it a major campaign issue in last year's election, dividing Democrats on how to respond. The bill applies to participation in girls' and women's sports that are sponsored by public schools, public universities and publicly chartered community colleges. It also prohibits any sort of government agency or athletic association from investigating or punishing a school or higher education institution for maintaining separate sports teams for girls or women. For well over an hour, Republicans and Democrats debated the bill, at times hotly. The sponsor, Sen. Judy Ward, a Republican from Blair, said the bill would 'ensure all young women have a fair chance to compete in the sports they love.' Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, a Democrat from Allegheny, called the bill discriminatory against transgender people, as well as 'unnecessary, unwarranted and unconstitutional in my mind.' Democrats warned that the bill will go nowhere, and a spokesperson for House Democratic leaders accused Senate Republicans of being 'more focused on divisive political theater and bullying kids for political points.' Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's office did not respond to an inquiry about the bill, although he has in the past expressed opposition to such bans. Trump, as president, signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. Pennsylvania's governing body for high school sports, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, then changed its policy in a move that some officials said was designed to follow Trump's order, except that lawyers on both sides of the issue say the change in policy wording does nothing of the sort. PIAA said it was aware of one transgender student participating in sports, but declined to say anything more about it, saying it is the subject of litigation. In response to Trump's order, the NCAA revised its transgender participation policy to limit women's college sports to athletes assigned as female at birth. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, a governing body for smaller schools, effectively banned transgender athletes in 2023 from women's sports. __ Follow Marc Levy on X at: .
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill to increase pensions for disabled veterans advances
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A bill that would increase the pension for approved veterans is making its way to the Pennsylvania Senate. The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee approved Senate Bill 534. It would increase the monthly pension amounts for Pennsylvania's Blind Veterans Pension Program and the Amputee and Paralyzed Veterans Pension Program. The bill, introduced by Senator Judy Ward and Senator Devlin Robinson, would raise the monthly pensions from $150 to $180 for veterans who suffered service-connected injuries resulting in blindness, paralysis, or the loss of two or more extremities. Amputee, paralyzed Pennsylvania veterans encouraged to apply for pension program 'For more than two decades, these critical pension programs have remained unchanged while the cost of living has continued to rise,' Ward said. 'This modest increase is the least we can do to support the men and women who have heroically sacrificed so much in service to our nation.' The last increase for the programs was in 1999 and Ward noted that the increase would potentially provide relief to over 2,500 Pennsylvania veterans. 'It is past time for the legislature to take action and put more money back in the pockets of our heroes,' Robinson said. 'I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation with Sen. Judy Ward to continue advocating for fellow Pennsylvania veterans.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
