In the first full week of session as their chamber’s unquestioned majority party, House Democrats are advancing a slew of long-stalled priorities.

Chief among them are a bill that would enshrine LGBTQ civil liberties in state law; a bill that would give counties seven days to open, process, and tally mail-in ballots before an election; and a measure that would create a new oversight board to monitor public sector workers’ safety.

These are only the first votes in a long series before any of the proposals could make it to the desk of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who still has yet to sign a bill into law. Most of the measures will likely be held up amid budget talks; some could potentially advance in June as part of a spending deal, or as standalone legislation.

But the slate of committee votes is a significant step, as it represents the first real action on a Democratic legislative agenda in the House after more than a decade of GOP control.

You can find video feeds for all of the week’s committee hearings here. Here are a few key votes to keep an eye on.

THE BILLS: 

• On Monday at 9:30 a.m. the House Judiciary Committee will vote on a bill that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, or any other public accommodation. Such a ban has been long sought by advocates, but has been blocked in the GOP-run General Assembly for the past decade.

• Monday at 10 a.m. the House Labor and Industry Committee will vote on a bill that would create a state board to oversee workforce safety for public sector workers. Pennsylvania is one of 23 states where no authority oversees government working conditions, and changing that has been top priority for organized labor.

• Monday at 11 a.m. the House State Government Committee will vote on a bill that would give counties seven days to open, process and tally mail ballots before Election Day, allow voters to fix an unsigned or undated mail ballot, and tighten the deadline to apply online for a mail-in ballot from a week to two weeks before the election (though voters could still request a mail-in ballot up until a week before the election by going in person to their county election office). Pre-canvassing of ballots and the longer mail ballot turnaround time have been top county requests since 2020.

• Tuesday at 10 a.m. the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will vote on a bill that would give school districts $500 million to install solar panels on their properties and buildings. The bill has the backing of both environmental groups and the state building trades, which have often been at odds over environmental policy in recent years — particularly over Pennsylvania’s entrance into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

» LEGISLATIVE AGENDA: Join us Thursday, April 27 from 6-7 p.m. on Zoom for a free panel on what issues and policies are on the state legislature's 2023 docket. Register here and submit questions to events@spotlightpa.org. 

TRIAL DATE: The trial of the man accused of carrying out the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 starts with jury selection in Pittsburgh today. Capital-Star reports advocates are still pushing for changes to state gun and hate crime laws.

LOCAL LAW: WHYY reports that Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County has passed a historic ordinance that limits where guns can be sold and thinks it can survive a likely state preemption law challenge.

LEGAL STATE: Recreational pot became legal in Delaware by default over the weekend. Is neighboring Pennsylvania any closer to legalizing adult-use cannabis here? City & State says the short answer is no. 

SPREAD THE NEWS: Everyone knows cream cheese brand Philadelphia isn't actually from Philadelphia. Or is it? This lengthy Reddit rant — or "cream cheese lecture" — makes a compelling case to the contrary.

WAYBACK PA: Apropos of very little, here's WHTM's reminder of what Pennsylvania government websites looked like in the 1990s. It was a simpler time, especially when it came to JavaScript.