Tina Burns
DemocraticQ1 PFAS chemicals are widely used in consumer products but have raised health concerns due to their persistence in the environment and humans, and some Pennsylvanian legislators are considering restrictions on its use, such as in House Bill 2145. Should Pennsylvania restrict PFAS in consumer products? What scientific evidence would you use to inform your decision?
Yes. The documented evidence of the significant relationship between exposure and detrimental health risks.
Q2 Measles vaccination rates in Pennsylvania have declined in recent years, from 95.5% in 2020 to 92.5% in 2025. At the same time, measles outbreaks have emerged across the state, with 62 confirmed cases in PA in 2026. As a policymaker, how do you approach engaging with communities that have concerns that center on infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety, and what policies, if any, would you support related to these issues?
Support HB 1828, & 120 and any other bills presented for vaccinations that are based in science. Community engagement needs to focus on early intervention utilizing public services such, as CFSS, schools and other outreach programs.
Q3 There have been avian influenza outbreaks in Pennsylvania, with potential impacts on poultry and dairy operations, both industries that provide billions of dollars of economic value to the state. What policies, if any, do you support to strengthen the state’s preparedness and outbreak response? Are there specific strategies you would prioritize to protect farm workers, agricultural communities, and the broader public?
Support HB995 and for increased funding for preparedness. The governor’s recent enhancement in the latest budget aims to both increase funds and has planning in place to grow, improve, and prioritize the workers, communities, and broader public. Education and public notification are paramount elements along with having the resources and trained staff at the ready to contain any outbreaks.
Q4 Pennsylvania is the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas and nuclear energy, as well as the third-largest producer of coal, per the Energy Information Administration. In contrast, PA currently ranks 45th in the country in terms of wind, solar, and hydropower energy production. How do you think these energy sources should be distributed across PA’s energy production portfolio, and what policies, if any, would you support to facilitate this?
PA needs to strive for being in the top 10 in the country for cleaner energy productions. Fossil fuel needs to be transitioned into cleaner sources. In order to do that dark and corporate money needs to be removed from politics, because PA is largely bought and paid for by dark and corporate money sources.
Many of those sources have vested interests in PA’s fossil fuel industry. The fossil fuel industry in PA needs to have the same rules and regulations implemented on it, that many of the current politicians are trying to force on cleaner energy source in order to slow them down or even stop them from being viable energy source options. There are at least 4 HBs that outline a plan for incorporating cleaner energy sources in PA that would help with addressing energy distribution.
Q5 Pennsylvania has proposed more reporting, utility oversight, and zoning guidance for large data centers, along with shifting some generation, capacity, and reliability costs onto data center developers rather than ordinary ratepayers. How should the costs and benefits of large data center development be divided between developers and the public, and what requirements, if any, would you support on power, water, and public reporting before a project moves forward?
There are currently some valuable house bills that have passed with bipartisan approval that have been set in a pile and forgotten by the Senate. Those bills would go a long way in starting the beginning of a long journey to regulate AI.
Ordinary ratepayers should not have to absorb any cost at all related to AI. This needs to be placed directly on the tech companies and profiting organizations that are jamming AI down on everyone without say or regulation. The US currently has more data centers than any other country and we have more than we need. The only way AI and those pushing the advancement of it at a rate of lightning need to be regulated to slow them down, and also held accountable for coming up with technology that does not destroy our environment or pass the cost on to ordinary ratepayers.