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Craig Staats On The Record

In November 2024, voters in the 145th District will be choosing our Representative in the Pennsylvania State House. This person will go to Harrisburg and be our vote on all statewide policy. There will be two names on the ballot: Vera Cole and Craig Staats.
 
Craig Staats is our current Representative. He has been in this office for 10 years.

We have many policy differences. I have listed below important votes and actions in Craig Staats legislative record where I would have done differently. I hope this helps voters make an informed decision in 2024. Thank you for your time and interest.

Elections
Women's Rights: Abortion
Public Education
Child Welfare
Environment
Marijuana

ELECTIONS

Craig Staats attempted to overturn the 2020 election.

In December 2020, Criag Staats signed a letter, sent to Pennsylvania’s Delegation of Senators and Representatives in Washington DC, with the words “we the undersigned members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly urge you, to object, and vote to sustain such objection, to the Electoral College votes received from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”

Setting the stage for what we now know as simply, January 6.

Craig Staats' signature on this letter is why I am running in this race. He attempted to throw out our votes. He acted to deny our fundamental freedom to vote and to have our vote counted.

Election deniers are on the Pa. ballot in 2022. Some are faring much better than expected
"For some candidates in the greater Philadelphia region seeking re-election, their role in the election lies have been largely absent on the campaign trail"

Sources and Details

Dec 4 2020 Letter to Pennsylvania’s Delegation in Washington DC

Election deniers are on the Pa. ballot in 2022. Some are faring much better than expected (WHYY, December 2022)

Elections today

In 2020, it took days after the election for Pennsylvania to finish counting votes and declare a winner. The Pennsylvania State House sought to fix this by passing a bill that would get votes counted faster. The bill, State House Bill 847, passed.

Craig Staats voted against HB 847. He voted against having our votes counted quickly.

Sources and Details

Legislation and votes here, 2023–2024 Pennsylvania State House Bill 847.

Pa. House answers county election officials’ request for more time to count mail-in ballots (Penn Capital Star, May 1, 2024)

WOMEN'S RIGHTS: ABORTION

Craig Staats voted for women in Pennsylvania to have NO right to an abortion.
 
Craig Staats voted in favor of Senate Bill 106, an amendment to the Pennsylvania State Constitution with these words, "This constitution does not grant the right to taxpayer-funded abortion or any other right relating to abortion." This bill is widely seen as opening the door to a complete ban on abortions in Pennsylvania. (For example, "Make no mistake. SB 106 opens the door to a complete abortion ban in the Commonwealth." Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect)
 
In 2022, SB 106 passed, in both the Pennsylvania State Senate and State House.
 
In Pennsylvania, a constitution amendment must be approved by the State House and Senate two years in a row before it goes on the ballot for voters.
 
After the 2022 elections, the number of pro-choice representatives in the House was just enough to keep the bill from being voted on again, barely.

Sources and Details
 
Legislation and votes here, 2021–2022 Pennsylvania Senate Bill 106. (The Bill went through a number of changes, don't get tripped up by the title and description. Open the Printers Number 1857* text and you'll see the abortion reference right away.) 

PUBLIC EDUCATION

Craig Staats voted against saving millions for traditional public schools.
 
State House Bill 1422 makes a fair and simple change to the amount public schools must pay to cyber charter schools. HB 1422 updates the reimbursement rates, making them consistent and based on actual education cost and needs. HB 1422 also makes sure that tax dollars cyber charter schools receive are spent, and spent to educate children.
 
The PA State House Appropriations Committee estimated savings under HB 1422:
 
Quakertown Community School District: $1,661,583
Palisades School District: $1,006,143
Pennridge School District: $1,162,049
Souderton Area School District: $609,960

State House Bill 1422 passed with bipartisan support.

Craig Staats was the only State Representative in Bucks County to vote against it.

Sources and Details

Legislation and votes here, 2023-2024 Pennsylvania State House Bill 1422. (Read the bill's memo, "Modernizing our cyber charter school law to protect kids and taxpayers" for good plain language description.)

"Public School Board Association Applauds State House Passage of Meaningful Cyber Charter School Reform"

ESTIMATE: School District Savings on Cyber Charter Tuition under HB1422 PN1820 with A01798

PA House Committee on Appropriations Fiscal Note

"Bucks County schools could net extra $16 million a year if Pa. education advocates prevail", USA Today Network, Bethany Rodgers, February 24, 2024 (Behind pay-wall, please contact campaign if unable to access)

Craig Staats voted against solar for schools, using federal grant money

The Solar for Schools program (1023-2024 House Bill 1032) uses a combination of state dollars and federal funding available through the Inflation Reduction Act to incentivize solar adoption, saving our public schools money and making energy costs more predictable, creating jobs, and increasing production of renewable energy.

The bill passed with broad bipartisan support.

Craig Staats was the only State Representative in Bucks County to vote against HB 1032.

The bill was signed into law in July, 2024.

Sources and Details

Legislation and votes here, 2023-2024 Pennsylvania State House Bill 1032.

Solar 4 Schools

Pennsylvania Enacts the Solar for Schools Act

Craig Staats voted against providing Pennsylvania produce as part of school lunches

The Keystone Fresh Act (2023-2024 State House Bill 2420) gives Pennsylvania family farmers access to school food markets and increase the volume and variety of PA grown food products in K-12 school meals.

HB 2420 passed the State House in July 2024 with broad bipartisan support.

Craig Staats was the only State Representative in Bucks County to vote against HB 2420.

Sources and Details

Legislation and votes here, 2023-2024 Pennsylvania State House Bill 2420.

Keystone Fresh Act: PA's Local Food Purchasing Incentive

Child Welfare

Craig Staats was the only Representative from Bucks County to vote against "Kayden’s Law", a bill to protect children in child custody situations.

The bill is named for a seven-year old girl in Bucks County who was killed by her father during an unsupervised visitation. In spite of known risks, the court ordered the unsupervised visits. After brutally killing the child, the father left a note on her body, "You all get what you deserve." Kayden's Law (Senate Bill 55) establishes common sense measures to put the well being of the child first in custody decisions. The measure passed with bipartisan support. Craig Staats voted against.

Earlier, Craig Staats voted against two bills to protect and support victims of sexual abuse. Both bills, HB 14 and HB 951 (2021-2022), passed the House with widespread support.

Sources and Details

Kayden's Law in honor of slain Bucks County girl heads to governor's desk (Bucks Courier Times, March 2024)

Legislation and votes, 2023-2024 Pennsylvania Senate Bill 55

votes and details, 2021-2022 Pennsylvania House Bill 14

votes and details, 2021-2022 Pennsylvania House Bill 951

Craig Staats was the only Representative from Bucks County to vote against requiring child care centers to have carbon monoxide detectors

State House Bill 494 (2023-2024) set standards requiring carbon monoxide alarms in child care centers and family child care homes.

HB 494 passed the State House in April 2023 with broad bipartisan support.

Craig Staats was the only State Representative in Bucks County to vote against HB 494.

Sources and Details

Legislation and votes, 2023-2024 Pennsylvania State House Bill 494

ENVIRONMENT

Craig Staats voting record on environmental issues in 2023-2024 earned a Scorecard Rating of 0% (on a scale of 100). His lifetime score is 10%.

These scores are tabulated by Conservation Voters of PA and published in their annual Pennsylvania Environmental Scorecard. In 2023-2024 Craig Staats votes against Solar for Schools, Community Solar, and Energy Efficiency standards, among others.

Sources and Details

Conservation Voters of PA, Environmental Scorecard 2023-2024

Marijuana

Craig Staats voted against Medical Marijuana.

Senate Bill 3 passed with wide bipartisan support in 2016, giving those in need access to medical marijuana. Craig Staats was one of the very few who voted against.

Sources and Details

Legislation and votes, 2015-2016, Pennsylvania Senate Bill 3

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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