Larry has spent years fighting to clean up local government, protect a woman’s right to choose, crack down on illegal guns, bring jobs and development to our neighborhoods, and secure equal rights and protections for members of the LGBTQIA community. Larry proudly serves as the Senate Democratic Caucus’ Secretary and is the Democratic Chair of the Judiciary Committee. Larry understands that for Democrats to be successful in Harrisburg they need the majority and has supported and raised money for candidates across the state trying to flip their districts.

Larry’s Accomplishments

Governmental Reform

  • Voted for a number of other campaign finance reforms like; campaign contribution limits, requiring disclosure for independent expenditures, and prohibiting personal use of campaign funds.
  • Led the charge in 2009 to end the DROP program for newly elected officials in the city.
  • Cosponsored two bills, Senate Bills 480 and 809 to provide a much more open and transparent process for the reporting and investigation of sexual harassment claims involving elected officials and staff.

Union Jobs

  • Senator Farnese voted twice against paycheck protection bills in the Senate. This legislation is similar to Right to Work legislation adopted in other states. It did not become law in Pennsylvania.
  • Since Senator Farnese has been a State Senator Senate District 1 has received over $400 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program which finds vital bricks and mortar construction in Pennsylvania. The $400 million in RACP investment has generated thousands upon thousands of jobs for union building trades members.
  • Senator Farnese voted for HB 400 which became Act 72 of 2010. The legislation gave the Department of Labor and Industry the authority to investigate misclassification of workers. This law is important because bad contractors will exploit and cheat workers by misclassifying them. Contractors misclassifying workers to avoid paying fair wages, workers comp insurance, and health care. It helps contractors bottom line, it does not help the workers. The Department of Labor and Industry over the last four years has conducted 875 investigations and levied over $2 million in fines against contractors misclassifying workers.

LGBTQIA Advocacy

  • Leading voice and co-sponsor to legalize same sex marriages in Pennsylvania.
  • Prime sponsor of:
    • SB 614 – makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in housing and employment.
    • SB 96 and SB 947 – reenact Pennsylvania’s hate crimes statutes to provide protection to LGBTQIA community members and stiffer punishments for those that harm someone based on who they love.
    • SB 212 – prohibits the use of gay and trans panic defense in homicide cases. In other words prohibition individuals charged with murder from asserting a gay and trans panic homicide defense.

Criminal Justice Reform

  • Voted for the use of alternative sentencing and enhanced treatment options for non-violent offenders.
  • Co-sponsored legislation to repeal the death penalty, and supported DA Krasner’s lawsuit to overturn the death penalty because it is unconstitutional and creates cruel and unusual punishment.
  • Focused on reforming and reducing long probation terms that result in technical violators going back to prison.

Economic Development

  • Lead author of legislation to ensure that more casino profits are being funneled back into non-profits and community groups. His legislation has resulted in $2 million in casino revenue being distributed to non-profits and community groups in Philadelphia for community redevelopment projects.
  • Working with community leaders, private businesses, and elected officials on the Southport project, which would attract $300 million in private investments and create thousands of permanent, family-sustaining jobs.
  • Fought for continued port funding to develop an auto processing facility in the district, helping to sustain more than 600 well-paying jobs.

Key achievements:

  • Brought over $1 billion back to the district in state funding for community, economic, and recreational development projects.
    Cosponsored Senate Bills 555 and 556 to provide Philadelphia Schools with $125 million to remove asbestos and remediate lead paint.
    Joined an advisory committee with Clean Water Action and Drexel University to work for an environmentally sound reuse of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions site.
  • Led the charge in 2009 to end the DROP program for newly elected officials in the city.
  • Prime sponsor of a bill to ban campaign contributions by commonwealth contractors.
  • Secured over $14 million in affordable housing grants and tax credits for projects in SD 1 since 2009. So far, these grants and tax credits have created over 1,000 units of affordable housing and will create hundreds of more units of affordable housing over the next several years.
  • Fought and voted to expand Medicaid in Pennsylvania to 650,000 Pennsylvanians, the single biggest expansion of healthcare in Pennsylvania history.
  • Voted against the 2019-20 State Budget due to the elimination of General Assistance.
  • Opposed two e-verify bills – one in 2012 and one in 2019 that unfairly targeted and would harm immigrants working in the construction industry.
  • Obtained $2.5 million in RACP funding for LGBTQ community centers.
  • Obtained $10,000 in state grants to install bike repair Fix It Stations

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