Monday’s report recommends Pennsylvania put in place stronger disclosure requirements so homebuyers know whether they’ll need flood insurance before buying a property, consider flood resilience when crafting its building code and create new state tax deductions for flood insurance payments and tax credits for home renovations that lower flood risk. 

“We want to encourage people to do what they need to do to make their homes more resilient,” Santarsiero said. 

The report also recommends the creation of a new state office that would help municipalities enroll in a FEMA program known as the Community Rating System, which rewards municipalities for flood mitigation and communication efforts with flood insurance discounts for residents. 

Across the country, more than 1,500 municipalities earn discounts for their residents through the program. Only two dozen municipalities in Pennsylvania participate.  

The task force heard a “common frustration with the complexity, length of time, and extensive resources necessary” to enroll in the program, according to the report. 

It also recommends the state offer more grants to municipalities to help them fund floodplain management activities that would allow them to join the Community Rating System, maintain participation or earn deeper discounts for residents. 

State Rep. Dave Zimmerman, a Republican representing parts of Lancaster and Berks counties who sat on the task force, said he’d like to see municipalities have the resources to elevate or even buy out flood-prone properties. 

“If we’re going to have this ongoing flooding, and insurance fixing it, and then flooding again — at some point if we don’t raise up these properties a little bit, maybe they need to be just taken away,” he said. 

Most flood insurance in the U.S. is provided by FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, but Pennsylvania’s private market has been expanding, with the number of private flood insurance policies in the state growing more than ten-fold between 2016 and 2023, according to the task force report. 

State Senator Lisa Baker, a Republican whose district includes part of Luzerne County — the county in Pennsylvania with the most federal flood insurance policies, according to FEMA data — sat on the taskforce. She noted in a press release Monday that in some states, homeowners insurance companies have pulled out or restricted coverage.

“The frequency of high damage events and the rising costs of recovery efforts are roiling insurance markets,” she said. “This is a crucial juncture for us to consider some fundamental changes before our situation deteriorates into crisis.” 

Several of the recommendations would require the General Assembly pass new legislation. Sen. Santarsiero said he hopes to leverage the participation of both Republicans and Democrats on the task force to garner bipartisan support for any such bills. 

“We’ve agreed that we want to work together,” Rep. Zimmerman said. 

State Rep. Perry Warren, whose district includes Upper Makefield where flash flooding killed seven people last summer, said in a statement he looks forward to supporting legislation that would implement the group’s recommendations.

Back in June 2022, the staff at Alfredo’s Cafe in Scranton were shocked to find that Eric Smith, a customer, left this huge tip after coming to the cafe and ordering a stromboli which only cost $13.25. Mariana Lambert, the waitress who served him, became emotional and overwhelmed upon seeing his gesture.

“It really meant a lot to me because everyone’s going through stuff. It really touched my heart. I still can’t believe it. I’m still in shock,” Lambert later said.

However, finding the move obviously unusual and to make sure Smith had not accidentally left the money, Matt Martini of Alfredo’s Cafe went to verify the figure and collect additional ID from the customer. Interestingly, Smith had written ‘Tips for Jesus’ on the check.

Martini asked Smith about the note, and it is then that the customer revealed that he had left the tip after being inspired by a social media trend called ‘Tips for Jesus.’ He decided to do it after seeing how hospitable Lambert was.

Things took a turn for the worse

Martini tried to make sure the tip was above board, but things only got worse. A few weeks later, the cafe received a letter saying Smith was disputing the charge for the tip.

Zachary Jacobson, a worker at the cafe, recalled, according to Unilad, “We thought somebody was actually trying to do a good thing. And then now we are, what, three months later? Not even, and there’s nothing. There’s nothing to show for it at this point.”

Alfredo’s had already given the $3,000 to Lambert. Therefore, the eatery had to repay Smith out of their own pockets. They tried to communicate with Smith on Facebook, but eventually launched a civil lawsuit against him.

“Unfortunately, we had to file charges through the magistrate’s office because now we’re just out of this money at this point. And he told us to sue him. So that’s what we’re going to end up doing, I guess,” Jacobson said.

Community members launched a GoFundMe to help Alfredo’s raise funds, but the fundraiser was shut down after the business refused to accept cash.

Continuing problems

Even as gun violence rates decline, gun reform advocates say there is much more work to be done.

Gun deaths and injuries cost Pennsylvanians $1,692 on average per person in 2019, according to data from EveryTown. More than 1,900 Pennsylvanians died by gun violence in 2021, with 181 being children and teenagers.

State Rep. Patty Kim (D-Dauphin/Cumberland) said lawmakers should have acted on gun reform a long time ago.

“We cannot see another life go away because we can’t get it together,” she said.

Gun reform bills have stalled in the State Legislature this session. A Senate billintroduced by Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) that would create a state research center for gun violence has awaited movement since January 2023.

A House bill establishing a gun violence task force in counties that surpass a firearm-related death threshold has not moved since March 2023. The ACLU opposes the task force bill due to the potential for Pennsylvania to prosecute more gun violence cases, even though more firearm deaths in the state are a result of suicide than homicide.

Two House bills, one aiming to track firearms sales and the other banning multi-burst gun modifiers, failed to pass by one vote in May.

State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) said as the State Legislature keeps gun reform “bottled up,” the state must fund organizations doing work locally.

“With the resources that this Commonwealth has, we need to be investing in organizations like yours and all the others that are around here that are doing the hard work but are doing it for nothing,” he said to Mariah Lewis, a gun violence survivor.

Lewis, now a med tech at a personal care facility in Palmyra, was shot in the face by her son’s father in 2021. She lost her left eye and now uses a prosthetic. Her attacker was spiraling after experiencing difficulty finding employment with a felony.

Kia Hansard, co-founder of nonprofit Concerned About the Children of Harrisburg, said that her organization helps provide immediate employment to people coming home from state correctional institutions regardless of conviction. Since opening in 2017, CATCH has found 544 people permanent employment.

Lewis founded Eye Choose Me, a nonprofit focused on domestic violence and gun reform, in 2022. Two years after its first meeting, she is still helping to fund the organization from her own pockets.

Money is not the only thing that can buy safe communities, according to Lewis. She emphasized the importance of outreach strategies and speaking to vulnerable people on the ground.

“Conversations are free,” Lewis said. “You going out into the community is free.”

CATCH co-founder Charla Plains said funding social services, including counseling services in schools, is integral to steering children away from gun violence. 

Shapiro’s budget would put $11.5 million toward after-school learning opportunities for children and $11 million toward building parks and improving shared spaces.

Carter acknowledged the importance of local organizations pushing for community connection because the Harrisburg police “just don’t have that trust.”

Philadelphia’s Citizens Police Oversight Commission reports 3 people killed by police from January to May 2024.

“When we are talking about gun violence, we cannot ignore the fact that gun violence also includes law enforcement violence,” Kia Hansard said.

Shapiro’s budget would invest $16 million to create four new Pennsylvania State Police cadet classes in an effort to aid understaffed local police departments.

Former Gov. Tom Wolf approved the Gun Violence Investigation and Prosecution Grant Program, which funds the investigation and prosecution of firearm-related violence. The program was funded by $50 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money.