Lawmakers approve school cell phone ban but punt on skill games, data centers

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(The Center Square) - In what effectively were the waning moments of the 2025-26 legislative session, lawmakers on Wednesday gave final approval to a policy they had sought for years - a ban of most student cell phones in schools - but other big issues were left on the table, unaddressed.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has asked for such a cell phone bill and is expected to sign it.

But he will not be signing any bills on skill games, data center development moratoriums, or a glaring gap in statutory language on sentencing for second-degree murder. High-profile efforts were made to get action on all three, but in each case partisan bickering overwhelmed any chance of agreement.

The student cell phone vote in the Senate came on the last voting session day before the general election for both chambers - in the final year of the two-year session. That, traditionally, is the final day on which lawmakers take significant votes, even though a few session days happen after the election.

"They have not in any way helped improve student learning or social growth," Sen. Devlin Robinson said of student cell phones. The bill sponsor and an Allegheny County Republican, Robinson said allowing students to have cell phones has help them be "the first generation to be less intelligent than their parents."

The bill calls on school entities to come up with details of their individual bans and adopt a policy by the start of the 2027-28 school year. The final vote in the Senate was 47-3 to approve changes made in the House.

In the House there were more than 60 "no" votes, including by some representatives who felt allowing students with individualized education programs - or IEP's - to keep their phones would create trouble. The segment of students with IEP's has in some years been near 19%.

Just as notable as the cell phone bill for many observers was the lack of action on key policy issues.

The recent lapse into illegality of so-called "skill games" may have been the most glaring. Lawmakers and Shapiro had talked for years about regulating and taxing the tens of thousands of machines that popped up in bars, clubs, and convenience stores.

The concept was so lucrative the governor projected it could produce $2 billion in revenue in a single year. Still, no law was passed.

Instead, small entities all over the state that depended on the unregulated games for income had them removed from the premises in the past few weeks after a Supreme Court-set deadline passed. One owner of four bars in Berks County told The Center Square more than 10 employees were losing their jobs because of the loss of revenue.

Democratic Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County said people were losing their jobs in her district, as well.

Boscola said she tried "to be the voice of reason" in the debate in Harrisburg. But entrenched leaders in both chambers appear unwilling to come to middle ground on what level of taxation to set, and exactly where in state government the new revenue should go.

Hence, the blame for the failure to find a deal lies with legislative leaders, according to Boscola.

Another glaring swing-and-miss issue for the General Assembly was data centers.

Widespread opposition erupted in communities across the state over proposals for massive new buildings stuffed with servers that will feed artificial intelligence.

Many data center-related bills were proposed, including ones that involved moratoriums. But none that lined up with the desires of the widespread community opposition reached the governor's desk.

"Our elected officials on both sides of the aisle in Harrisburg continue to point fingers at each other and bow to pressure from special interests," said Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, senior organizer for Food & Water Watch, an advocacy nonprofit.

What much of the public wants to see, Marcille-Kerslake said, is enactment of the three-year data center moratorium as proposed in a bill filed by Democratic Sen. Katie Muth of Chester County.

"Regardless of the outcome on November 3, that is what they need to do moving forward," Marcille-Kerslake said.

Another blank spot on the list of legislative accomplishments was related to statutory language for second-degree murder, also known as felony murder.

In late March, the state Supreme Court invalidated sentencing guidelines for those serving mandatory life sentences without parole for second-degree murder. It stayed the effects of its ruling to give the Legislature 120 days to fix the guidelines.

The House returned to Harrisburg for a rare, late-July voting session day and approved a felony murder bill that had already passed the Senate. In the process, though, it made big changes that Senate Republicans did not like.

Democratic Majority Leader Matt Bradford of Montgomery County pointed out that the Senate was not in town. "The House is here, before the deadline, ready to do the job," he said.

The clock ran out and lawmakers from the two parties blamed each other.

Republican Sen. Tracy Pennycuick of Montgomery County said this week that Democrats "have gone so far to the left" they no longer try to negotiate, and of late they have felt emboldened by predictions of a "blue wave" in the Nov. 3 election.

On that day, elections will be held for all 203 House seats and half of the 50 Senate seats.

The technical start date for the new two-year session is Dec. 1, but new lawmakers will not be sworn in and voting days will not resume until after Jan. 1.