state rep aaron bernstine

House Bill 2030 Passes, Ellwood Council Hires Lobbyist to Oppose

Yesterday, House Bill 2030, which modifies the Ellwood City borough electric department, passed in a 106-89 vote. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-10, New Beaver, will now pass to the state senate. The bill will prevent the borough from transferring funds from the electric department to the General Fund and includes additional provisions for consumer protection. The bill’s language limits its impact to boroughs providing electric to more than one county. Out of the 35 boroughs in Pennsylvania that supply electric, only Ellwood City is located in more than one county. “We are asking the borough of Ellwood…


Bernstine Announces Spring Town Hall Meeting Series

ELLWOOD CITY – Continuing his efforts to stay in touch with the people who hired him to be their voice in Harrisburg, state Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) on Wednesday announced his latest series of town hall meetings, which will take place around the 10th Legislative District this spring. The meeting locations and dates are: New Beaver Borough Town Hall – Tuesday, April 3, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the New Beaver Borough Building, located at 778 Wampum-New Galilee Road, New Galilee. Slippery Rock Borough Town Hall – Wednesday, April 4, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Slippery Rock Borough Building, located at…


Bernstine, Local Mayors Issue Letter Encouraging Relocation of Businesses to 10th District

Ellwood City- Citing a recently passed storm water management tax as motivation, Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) today issued a letter to business owners in the City of New Castle inviting them to consider relocating to municipalities in the 10th Legislative District. Ellwood City Mayor Tony Court, Beaver Falls Mayor George Quay, New Brighton Mayor Tom Albanese and Slippery Rock Mayor J.D. Longo also signed the letter, which cited lower property taxes and no wage tax on employees as reasons to relocate to their municipalities. “We know that keeping property taxes low and creating an environment where you can work effectively…


Bernstine to Host Paper Shredding Event on Nov. 4

Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) will host a free paper shredding event on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9-11 a.m. in the Franklin Township Building parking lot, located at 897 State Route 288, Fombell. Free on-site document shredding will be provided by Iron City Workplace Services. “We all know that identity theft is a growing problem both locally and across the country,” said Bernstine. “Now, more than ever, we need to protect our private information and make sure it is destroyed properly. We are pleased to provide residents with a secure way to shred large amounts of personal documents.” Residents who plan…


Bernstine Announces Satellite Office Hours in Beaver, Butler Counties

In another effort to deliver superior constituent service to residents of the 10th Legislative District at no additional cost to taxpayers, Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) announced he is now offering satellite office hours in New Brighton, Slippery Rock and Beaver Falls. “Upon taking office, I have made it a priority to dramatically reduce spending, and these office hours are an example of how efficient government should work,” said Bernstine. “I encourage residents in these areas to take advantage of this opportunity.” Bernstine will offer satellite office hours according to the following schedule: Every Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m….


Bernstine Announces $460,000 to Improve Drinking Water in Wampum

HARRISBURG – Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) announced today that $460,000 in state funding from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PennVEST) will allow Wampum Borough in Lawrence County to move forward with its plans to improve municipal drinking water. “The quality of water in Wampum has been an issue for many years,” Bernstine said. “I was happy to work with the local elected officials, as well as the state, to expedite the process of this grant. Nobody should go without quality water. This issue is finally on its way to being resolved.” The loan, which includes a 1 percent interest rate…


House Passes Bernstine Bill to Protect Mental Health Patients from Abuse

HARRISBURG – The House of Representatives today unanimously approved legislation, authored by Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence), which would ensure Pennsylvanians receiving mental health care have legal protection from those seeking to do them harm. “Mental health issues can impact anyone, at any time, and without this safeguard on our books, we would be failing to protect a lot of our citizens from potential abuse and neglect. That’s unacceptable.” House Bill 835 would update the Mental Health Procedures Act to state that persons in treatment for mental health issues have a right to be free from abuse, neglect and exploitation. Currently,…


Bernstine, Solomon Bill Would Prepare PA Students to Enter Workforce

HARRISBURG – In a bipartisan effort to prepare Pennsylvania’s youth for the 21st century workforce, state Reps. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) and Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia) introduced legislation which would allow high school students to obtain real-world work experience while still in school. House Bill 1522 would establish a pilot grant program which would encourage schools and local businesses to collaborate to provide work-based learning opportunities for high school students. “As we work to prepare students for the 21st century workforce, this legislation would allow job creators to help transform our education system. When I came to Harrisburg, I wanted to develop…


Bernstine Backs Pension Reform to Better Protect Taxpayers

HARRISBURG – Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives’ bipartisan vote to reform Pennsylvania’s two public pension systems, which have a combined unfunded liability of more than $62.7 billion: “While this legislation won’t make all our pension problems disappear, it represents a meaningful step that will reduce our massive unfunded liability by more than $5 billion. Most importantly, it shifts financial risk away from our hard-working taxpayers.  Every dollar we add to our pension debt threatens the quality of our schools and the paychecks of our taxpayers, and we need to stop adding to…


Bernstine, Court Agree to Send Information to District Attorney Office

ELLWOOD CITY – In response to parking tickets that were issued at a legislative press conference on Thursday, May 11, state Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-New Beaver) and Ellwood City Mayor Anthony Court have jointly agreed to send documentation of the event to the Lawrence County District Attorney office, Bernstine announced today. Bernstine held a press conference in front of a private residence on Wampum Avenue to announce his legislation to better regulate municipal electric costs. Many attendees of the event, including Bernstine himself, received parking tickets from the Ellwood City Police Department. “Because I firmly believe that the tickets were…