While Governor Josh Shapiro and other Leader in state legislation The state House of Representatives expressed confidence that it was close to reaching a budget agreement after the July 1 deadline officially passed and passed several other bills on Monday.

Here is a look at some of these bills:

Bill 2175: Establishment of an Office of a Children’s Advocate

There are currently permanent offices of child advocates in 34 states, but Pennsylvania is not one of them. Invoice sponsored The proposal, introduced by state Rep. Christina Sappey (D-Chester), would codify the office as a permanent, independent state agency within the Department of Human Services.

“Unlike the Department of Aging, which has had an ombudsman for the interests of Pennsylvania’s older residents for decades, the Office of Child Advocate is not currently a permanent office in our Commonwealth,” said Sappey. The office was created by Implementing Regulation in 2019 by then-Governor Tom Wolf, and Sappey said a future administration could repeal it.

“The many children in our state who are subjected to horrific abuse and neglect deserve to have someone in their government dedicated to abuse education and prevention,” Sappey said. “They deserve someone who can work on their behalf across agencies to expose abuse and ensure those who commit these heinous crimes are brought to justice.”

State Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa (R-Fayette), who voted against the bill, argued that agencies such as the Pennsylvania Auditor General and Attorney General, as well as the Department of Human Services, were already doing this necessary work.

“This bill does nothing except further expand government to the detriment of vulnerable children and the welfare of our Commonwealth,” Krupa said.

The bill was introduced by a 111-91 Vote and advances to the Senate.

House Bill 2180: Establishes a school meal debt fund

The bill by Representative Emily Kinkead (D-Allegheny) to establish a school lunch debt fund in the state Department of Education was rejected by a 118-84 Vote On Monday.

“All we can do with this bill is ensure that children can eat at school, regardless of whether they can pay for it or not,” she said before the vote in the House of Representatives.

Bill 2180 would establish this office by providing $80 million to help public schools pay off their students’ “school meal debt” beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.

She said the bill also prohibits the “shaming of school lunch debt,” adding that students perform better when they are not hungry.

“Children should not be the ones responsible for school lunch debt,” Kinkead said.

House Bill 1990: Training School Nurses to Treat Epileptic Seizures

School nurses and school professionals may receive training on how to deal with students having an epileptic seizure, but this is not required by law. An invoice by Representative Carol Kazeem (D-Delaware), who on Monday passed a majority 178 to 24 votes would change that.

“This law is not just about compliance, it's about protecting the safety of our children across the state,” she said. “Many families can rest easy knowing that every school employee has trained staff who can respond effectively in a medical emergency like this.”

Kazeem said she has a son who suffers from epileptic seizures and she believes this bill is a proactive step to ensure that schools in the state are equipped to deal with epileptic seizures among students.

The required training of school nurses and other school staff would have to be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Republican Rep. Russ Diamond of Lebanon also spoke in favor of the bill. He said his wife also suffers from epileptic seizures.

“Every day I come to Harrisburg, unfortunately, I expect the same call that the main sponsor talked about,” Diamond said. “I dread the day I have to go home when I get that call because my wife is having a seizure and there's someone around her who doesn't know what to do.”

Bill 2420: Subsidies for the use of regional products in school meals

The bipartisan legislation by legislators from various parties and regions of the Commonwealth, which is accompanied by a 145-57 voteswould establish the “Keystone Fresh Program”.

Rep. Danilo Burgos (D-Philadelphia), the bill's lead sponsor, said it would increase the amount and variety of Pennsylvania-made products served in school meals. Of the more than $729 million Pennsylvania receives annually from the federal government, the state's schools spend less than 2% of these funds on food grown in Pennsylvania.

“The Keystone Fresh Act program will be a big step toward increasing the share of Pennsylvania farmers and producers by providing grants to schools to offset the cost of purchasing local food and thereby expand their meal options,” Burgos said.

He added that the bill also provides funds for equipment and other technical assistance to farmers and producers in the state to enable them to sell their products to schools.

State Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R-Wayne), one of the bill's main sponsors, recalled growing up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, where he had a garden.

“There was nothing better than freshly picked vegetables from the ground, the snap and crunch of freshly picked carrots, the texture and taste of freshly picked lettuce,” said Fritz. “House Bill 2420 makes it easier to bring Pennsylvania-grown produce to our school cafeterias.”

The bill will be submitted to the Senate.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives will meet again for a voting session on Tuesday at 11 a.m.