Pennsylvania Lawmakers Leave Harrisburg With Key Issues Unresolved

The Pennsylvania House and Senate finished their final session week before the Nov. 3 general election and left Harrisburg. The account comes from the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce session summary.

Major issues ended without agreement, including legalizing skill games, additional data center regulation and legal and criminal justice reforms. Leaders of both parties said those issues are likely to return in the next session.

Still, several bills were handled. The House passed Senate Bill 908 by a vote of 128 to 75. The bill expands prevailing wage, the minimum wage that applies to public works, to certain custom fabrication work done off site.

An amendment removed a ban on split wages and exempted residential projects under 50,000 dollars and some school security projects. The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce opposed the bill, saying higher costs for schools and local governments could lead to property tax increases.

The governor signed the bill into Act 101 of 2026. It takes effect Dec. 21, and a legal challenge is expected, the chamber said.

The Senate unanimously passed House Bill 135, which lowers the minimum number of people needed to register a worker cooperative, a business jointly owned and operated by its workers, from five to three.

The fate of the unresolved issues will be decided when lawmakers reconvene after the election. As the leaders described it, those bills will return as major items in next year’s session.