Pennsylvania

Policy Committee Discusses Challenges of New Home Owners in Pennsylvania

Published

2 years ago

May 10, 2024

Policy Committee Discusses Challenges of New Home Owners in Pennsylvania

PHOENIXVILLE − May 10, 2024 – State Senator Katie Muth (D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks), chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, joined Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia) and Sen. Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny) today in Phoenixville to co-host a public hearing examining challenges faced by owners of newly built homes in Pennsylvania and the lack of protections for these residents in state and local laws.

“As a new homeowner living in a newly constructed neighborhood, being a first-time home buyer and owner has been challenging and a major eye opener. I’ve learned that this struggle extends far beyond my neighborhood, with others living in SD44 and across the state who are experiencing similar or even worse situations,” Muth said. “So many Pennsylvanians put their life savings into what they think is a dream home – but they end up living a very expensive and very stressful nightmare. Today’s hearing highlighted many consumer issues, and how lack of enforcement and accountability harm residents all across this state – as well as the weaknesses in state laws which allow builders and developers to financially deceive buyers. All levels of government need to step up and make the necessary changes to laws and regulations to ensure consistent oversight and enforcement. Further, it’s clear that skilled labor and skilled workers is imperative in ensuring quality homes are built.”

The hearing, held at the Phoenixville Borough Building in Chester County, featured two panels of testimony. The first panel included two impacted residents who have each dealt with several construction and water issues in their newly constructed homes. The second panel focused on code enforcement and inspection issues in the construction industry.

“As a realtor, I understand the devastating impact it can have on a family when a new home construction or a remodel project isn’t completed as anticipated or promised,” Fontana said. “This hearing provided me with some valuable input regarding what is working and what needs some adjustments in terms of licensure, Pennsylvania’s laws and the role the different state agencies play.”

According to testimony provided by Marc Faulkner, a trained electrician and owner of a certified inspection company, there is no requirement for a contractor to be licensed in their selected trade and requirement by the state for the licensing of plumbers, framers, HVAC, or even electricians.

“Housing stability affects all aspects of our lives—our families, our work, our health, and our communities. Many people look to homeownership as the best way to achieve this essential stability only to find out that the new home they’ve used all their resources to purchase is putting them in danger,” Saval added. “As we begin to engage seriously with the real and pressing supply problem in Pennsylvania’s residential housing sector, we also need to protect residents from dangerous practices that add stress to our lives and erode community cohesion.”

The Committee is also continuing to seek resident input and is asking Pennsylvania residents living in any county, in newly constructed homes to fill out a brief survey about their experiences as an owner of a newly constructed home in Pennsylvania. The survey responses will remain anonymous and will only be used to help inform Committee members of the challenges being faced by so many Pennsylvanians who were sold on the promise of a newly constructed home only to deal with issues of poor workmanship and unreliable contractors after moving in. The survey results will also ensure that any proposed policies address all the challenges in new home construction statewide. The survey can be accessed at bit.ly/SenDemPolicyHomeSurvey.

Participants in the hearing included two former Philadelphia residents, Megan Murray and Peggy Jackson who have had significant issues in their own newly constructed homes; John Abel, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; Marc Faulkner, Faulkner Inspection Services; and Warren Obenski, Honey Brook Township Manager.

Senator Tim Kearney (D-Delaware) and Senator Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny) also participated in the hearing virtually.

The Policy Committee did invite several builders to testify at the hearing but all declined participation.

For more information on this policy hearing and to access all submitted testimony and a full recording of today’s hearing, visit www.SenatorMuth.com/policy.

# # #

Testimony

Panel 1: Homeowners

Panel 2: Code Enforcement

Additional

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball, Pick 2 Day results for Dec. 20, 2025

Published

5 minutes ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

04-05-28-52-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 2-2, Wild: 2

Evening: 5-3, Wild: 9

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 2-0-0, Wild: 2

Evening: 4-6-7, Wild: 9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 6-6-7-9, Wild: 2

Evening: 1-1-7-1, Wild: 9

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 9-9-1-2-6, Wild: 2

Evening: 8-1-9-3-5, Wild: 9

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

14-24-26-42-45, Cash Ball: 04

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

05-07-08-37-38

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

03-06-08-16-18

Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

10-13-22-31-35-45

Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

05-08-19-23-43, Powerball: 06

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back.
Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you.

When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily.
Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily.
Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily.
Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Powerball lottery ticket wins $1 million as jackpot grows to $1.5 billion

Published

12 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Pennsylvania Powerball lottery ticket wins million as jackpot grows to .5 billion

article

FILE – Powerball logo displayed on a phone screen and coins are seen in this illustration photo.

PHILADELPHIA – A Powerball ticket sold in Pennsylvania matched five numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, winning $1 million, according to lottery officials.

What we know:

The Pennsylvania ticket was one of several nationwide that matched all five white balls. The ticket did not include the Power Play multiplier.

Because no one matched all six numbers, the Powerball jackpot continues to climb. The next drawing will feature an estimated $1.5 billion jackpot, with a cash option of $689.3 million.

Winning numbers (Dec. 17, 2025)

25 – 33 – 53 – 62 – 66
Powerball: 17
Power Play: 4x

The Pennsylvania Lottery has not yet announced where the winning ticket was sold.

What’s next:

The next Powerball drawing takes place Saturday night, Dec. 20. The estimated jackpot is an astounding $1.5 billion.

The Source: This article is based on official Powerball drawing results.

LotteryPennsylvania

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Pennsylvania

More than $22 million in

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

More than $22 million in “Money Match” checks were mailed to nearly 100,000 Pennsylvanians, the treasury said.

In a news release on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Treasury said people should be on the lookout for the checks, which are part of the Pennsylvania Money Match program. Treasurer Stacy Garrity said to cash or deposit the checks “promptly.”

The first Pennsylvania Money Match checks, totaling more than $1.7 million, are now on the way to Pennsylvanians’ mailboxes. Pennsylvania Money Match is a new program that allows Treasury to return certain unclaimed property to rightful owners automatically, which was approved unanimously by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor last year.

“I want Pennsylvanians to know that this is a real check, it is real money, and it belongs to them,” Garrity said in the news release. “And as always, I still encourage everyone to regularly search for unclaimed property online, as many claims will not qualify for the Money Match process.”

With the mailing of the year’s last batch of checks, more than $50 million will have been returned automatically to Pennsylvanians.

What are Money Match checks?

The program allows the state treasury to automatically return unclaimed property valued up to $500 owned by a single individual. Before the program was created in 2024, residents themselves had to seek out unclaimed property.

“I’m thrilled to continue this program as we work hard to get more money back to its rightful owners,” Garrity said in the news release.

However, if the property has multiple owners or is valued higher than $500, Pennsylvanians still need to file a claim.

What is unclaimed property?

Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, rebates and insurance policies, among other things. It can also include the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes.

According to the state treasury, more than one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed some of the $5 billion in unclaimed property in the treasury’s care, and the average value of a claim is more than $1,000.