Legislation that may help Pennsylvania consumers save money on their residential electricity bills was the topic of a House Consumer Affairs Committee public hearing held Wednesday in Harrisburg. Republican committee chairman Rep. Bob Godshall (R-Montgomery) said municipal electricity aggregation is a strategy under consideration by lawmakers to help cut costs and protect consumers from dramatic increases in the price of electricity brought about by the recent price de-regulation plan. Mike Davies Reports - Story and Bite available.

Legislation to eliminate "Pay to Play" and prevent political influence from affecting the state's procurement of goods and services has been introduced in Harrisburg. The package of bills, sponsored by House Republicans, would reform contracting procedures and ensure the awarding of lucrative no-bid state contracts would be unaffected by a vendor's political donations. Rep. Bob Godshall (R-Montgomery) said his Public Contract Integrity Act was inspired by tough regulations put in place by New Jersey. Mike Davies Reports - Story and Bite available.

Legislation that would ensure consumers receive full value when using gift cards was the topic of discussion at a hearing held Tuesday in Lansdale by the House Consumer Affairs Committee. Rep. Bob Godshall, Republican chairman of the committee, said recipients should be able to redeem gift cards at full value and that uniform regulations on all gift cards may be necessary. Chuck Nichols Reports - Story and Cut available.

The Pennsylvania House has passed Open Records legislation that increases access to public records while preserving the safety and security of peoples’ private information. Rep. Bob Godshall (R-Montgomery) pointed out the flaws that had to be corrected to ensure public privacy in the Open Records bill. Chuck Nichols Reports - Full Story and Stand-Alone Cut available.