2026 Pennsylvania General Election 

Wayne D Fontana

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Buket Urgen

A graduate of Community College of Allegheny County, Wayne holds an Associate’s Degree in Business. Born and raised in the Beechview section of the City of Pittsburgh, he and his wife Francine reside in the Brookline section of Pittsburgh. They have three children and five grandchildren.

About Wayne

Wayne D Fontana was born and raised in the Beechview section of Pittsburgh. He earned an associate’s degree in business from the Community College of Allegheny County. He lives with his wife, Francine, in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood and has three children and five grandchildren.

Prior to his election to the Senate, Wayne served as an inaugural member of Allegheny County Council, where he was elected to serve as vice president. Wayne is a realtor and real estate broker by profession. He has previously worked for Howard Hanna Real Estate Services as a Sales Manager and Associate Broker and is a past recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh.

Wayne is a realtor and real estate broker. He previously worked for Howard Hanna Real Estate Services as a sales manager and associate broker.

What do you see as the most pressing issues facing residents of your district, and how would you address them?
I hear often from my constituents about how property taxes are inconsistent, inequitable, and unfair.
Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that does not reassess on a standard, cyclical basis.
This dysfunctional system has created a situation in which fifty-four of our sixty-seven counties have not completed a reassessment in fifteen years or more, including ten counties that have not reassessed in 48 years.
That is why I introduced Senate Bill 567, that would require every county reassess once every five years.
Every other state has figured out how to do this and we need to fix this to make our property taxes more consistent and fairer to taxpayers.

Vote411: Pennsylvania State Senator, District 42

Pittsburgh, March 25, 2026 – Today, state Senator Wayne Fontana issued the following statement on the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voting to increase the commonwealth’s $7.25/hr minimum wage:

“I am pleased to see the PA House, once again, pass legislation to raise the minimum wage, as Pennsylvania has had the lowest minimum wage in the nation for far too long.

Working Pennsylvanians earning minimum wage have not seen an increase in 17 years, even though every state around us increased their minimum wages multiple times.

It is time for Senate Republicans to stop the petty politics and actually do something to help working people by allowing a vote to raise the minimum wage as soon as possible.”

House Bill 2189 increases the state minimum wage to $11/hr in 2027, to $13/hr in 2028, and to $15/hr in 2029. Starting in 2030, the wage would be indexed to inflation.

Sen. Fontana Statement on Minimum Wage Bill Passing the PA House

This budget includes an expansion of the new Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, an increase of the Property Tax and Rent Rebate program, and a long-overdue increase in the state minimum wage—all of which put more money directly into peoples’ wallets.

I support the governor’s proposal to provide transit agencies like PRT with additional funding, his investment into proven workforce and economic development initiatives, and the new $100 million fund to attract new businesses to the state.

Sen. Fontana Statement on Proposed Budget

This budget includes an expansion of the new Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, an increase of the Property Tax and Rent Rebate program, and a long-overdue increase in the state minimum wage—all of which put more money directly into peoples’ wallets.

I support the governor’s proposal to provide transit agencies like PRT with additional funding, his investment into proven workforce and economic development initiatives, and the new $100 million fund to attract new businesses to the state.

I look forward to getting to work on the budget process to ensure that the final budget is on-time and works for the taxpayers and businesses in the 42nd senatorial district.

Introduced Senate Bill 567 to require counties to reassess property values every five years.

Supports raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage and calls for a Senate vote on the proposal.

Supports expanding the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit and the Property Tax and Rent Rebate program.

Supports additional transit funding, workforce and economic-development investments, and a $100 million fund to attract businesses.

- Introduced Senate Bill 567 to require counties to reassess property values every five years.
- Supports raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage and calls for a Senate vote on the proposal.
- Supports expanding the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit and the Property Tax and Rent Rebate program.
- Supports additional transit funding, workforce and economic-development investments, and a $100 million fund to attract businesses.

Economy

I do support and have co-sponsored state legislation that aims to address the negative impacts of ICE on our communities, including:

Senate Bill 1071 – Requiring officers and agents to wear clearly visible identification (and uniform and badge with name, badge number, and department or agency) and prohibiting them from wearing masks, facial coverings, or other garments that obscure their identity.
Prohibiting indiscriminate tactics of arrest and detainment by law enforcement acting within this Commonwealth. More Info.
Ensuring that all schools in Pennsylvania protect all students regardless of their immigration status. The “Welcoming Schools” law would require school districts to implement procedures for responding to immigration enforcement at schools. More Info.

Protecting Pennsylvanians from ICE

EDUCATION (K-12)

Online Posting of School Policies – Authored legislation that was enacted to require all school districts to post their school policies on the district’s public website.

Full Day Kindergarten Requirement – Authored legislation to require all school districts in the Commonwealth to provide full day kindergarten programs.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors in Schools – Authored legislation to require carbon monoxide detectors in all elementary and secondary schools.

Lead Testing in Schools – Authored legislation requiring every school building to be tested for lead.

Keystone Exam Reform – Supported legislation that reduced the number of required Keystone Exam tests and provided alternative proficiency requirements for career and technical education students.

Legislative Voting History

EDUCATION (K-12)

Online Posting of School Policies – Authored legislation that was enacted to require all school districts to post their school policies on the district’s public website.

Full Day Kindergarten Requirement – Authored legislation to require all school districts in the Commonwealth to provide full day kindergarten programs.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors in Schools – Authored legislation to require carbon monoxide detectors in all elementary and secondary schools.

Lead Testing in Schools – Authored legislation requiring every school building to be tested for lead.

Co-sponsored the Welcoming Schools law, requiring school districts to establish procedures for immigration enforcement at schools.

Authored legislation requiring every school building to be tested for lead.

Authored legislation requiring Pennsylvania school districts to provide full-day kindergarten programs.

- Co-sponsored the Welcoming Schools law, requiring school districts to establish procedures for immigration enforcement at schools.
- Authored legislation requiring every school building to be tested for lead.
- Authored legislation requiring Pennsylvania school districts to provide full-day kindergarten programs.

Education

HEALTHCARE

Nurse Staffing Ratios – Author of legislation that would require hospitals to post the staffing levels for RNs, LPNs, CANs in patient care areas. The bill would also require the state Department of Health to compile and publish quarterly reports of this information for each Pennsylvania hospital.

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization – Supported each authorization to extend health insurance for children and has recently called on the federal government to permanently reauthorize and fund so that no disruption in payments and services occur to the states.

HEALTHCARE

Medical Marijuana – Ardent supporter of the groundbreaking legislation that legalized medical marijuana in Pennsylvania to allow for the treatment of certain medical conditions.

Right to Try – Voted in favor of the law to permit eligible patients to request and use investigational drugs, biological products and medical devices not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if the patient has a terminal illness and passes other requirements.

Pediatric Cancer Research State Income Tax Form Check-off – Supported enactment of law to provide taxpayers the option to donate to Pediatric Cancer Research.

Proposes Senate Bill 50, which would bar insurers from denying or excluding coverage based on preexisting conditions.

Protecting Insurance Coverage for Individuals with Preexisting Conditions (with all Democrats)

SB 50 - Prohibits health insurance companies from using an individual’s preexisting medical conditions to deny or exclude coverage under a health insurance policy.

			Referred to Banking and Insurance on Jan. 22, 2025

Legislation 2025-26

Proposes Senate Bill 52, which would prohibit annual or lifetime limits in health-insurance policies.

Prohibiting Annual or Lifetime Limits on Health Insurance Policies (with all Democrats)

SB 52 – Prohibits health insurance policies within the Commonwealth from imposing either an annual or lifetime limit.

			Referred to Banking and Insurance, Jan. 22, 2025

Authored legislation requiring hospitals to post nurse staffing levels and the Department of Health to publish quarterly reports.

Supports Pennsylvania's medical-marijuana law for treating certain medical conditions.

- Authored legislation requiring hospitals to post nurse staffing levels and the Department of Health to publish quarterly reports.
- Supports Pennsylvania's medical-marijuana law for treating certain medical conditions.

Healthcare

As of October 16, 2026, Wayne D Fontana’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Voting & Elections

What I’m Doing

State Senators and Representatives serving in the Pennsylvania Legislature in Harrisburg (not the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C.) do NOT have control over or the opportunity to vote on federal issues, such as immigration policy or the Department of Homeland Security budget.

I do support and have co-sponsored state legislation that aims to address the negative impacts of ICE on our communities, including:

Senate Bill 1071 – Requiring officers and agents to wear clearly visible identification (and uniform and badge with name, badge number, and department or agency) and prohibiting them from wearing masks, facial coverings, or other garments that obscure their identity.
Prohibiting indiscriminate tactics of arrest and detainment by law enforcement acting within this Commonwealth.

Proposes Senate Bill 262 to let family members and law enforcement seek temporary firearm-access suspensions through court petitions.

Extreme Risk Protection Order

SB 262 - Grants family members and law enforcement the ability to petition a court to temporarily suspend an individual’s access to firearms if there is documented evidence that an individual is a threatening harm to themselves or others.

			Referred to Judiciary, Feb. 20, 2025

Proposes Senate Bill 256 to require carbon-monoxide detectors in licensed child care facilities.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

SB 256 – Would require carbon monoxide detectors in child care facilities including a boarding home for children, child care center and a nursery school that is licensed and regulated by the Commonwealth.

			Referred to Health and Human Services, Feb. 20, 2025

			Reported as Committed on April 1, 2025 (13-0)

			Referred to Appropriations on April 2, 2025

Co-sponsored Senate Bill 1071 to require law-enforcement officers and agents to display identification and prohibit identity-obscuring face coverings.

- Co-sponsored Senate Bill 1071 to require law-enforcement officers and agents to display identification and prohibit identity-obscuring face coverings.

Public Safety

Should the state legislature enact laws concerning the impacts on water, energy, or land use from the development and operation of data centers? Would state regulation of data center development and operation interfere with the authority of municipalities to establish ordinances under the MPC (Municipal Planning Code)?
Yes, I support the Governor's proposals for purposeful and thoughtful data center permitting and siting standards. However, I do not support state-level preemption of municipal planning efforts. Communities must be able to make those decisions themselves without political interference from Harrisburg.

ENVIRONMENT

Lead Abatement – Authored legislation to create a superfund for lead abatement in places like schools and daycares.

Lead Task Force – Authored legislation to create a task for to study lead issues. Currently serving on a statewide lead task force advisory committee.

Lead Testing in Daycares – Authored legislation that would require daycares to be tested for lead

Severance Tax on Natural Gas Drilling – Support efforts to implement a severance tax on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.

ENVIRONMENT

Water Testing Disclosure – Authored legislation that requires the state Department of Environmental Protection to provide the water test results to homeowners for all parameters that they have accurately measured.

Climate Change – Co-prime sponsored legislation to ensure that Pennsylvania continues to fulfill its responsibility in fighting global climate change, strives to meet its commitments under the Paris climate accord and attain the goals set forth in the Clean Power Plan.

Recycling Fee Prohibition – Voted in favor of legislation in the Senate that would prohibit recycling fees from being imposed after January 1, 2020.

Supports state data-center permitting and siting standards while opposing state laws that override municipal planning decisions.

Authored legislation to create a fund to address lead hazards in places including schools and day care facilities.

Authored legislation requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to disclose water-test results to homeowners.

- Supports state data-center permitting and siting standards while opposing state laws that override municipal planning decisions.
- Authored legislation to create a fund to address lead hazards in places including schools and day care facilities.
- Authored legislation requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to disclose water-test results to homeowners.

Energy & the Environment

- Your state senator represents the interests of your district in the Pennsylvania State Senate. The State Senate, along with the State House of Representatives, makes up your state lawmaking body: the Pennsylvania General Assembly. 
- Your state senator can author, sponsor, and vote on bills that may become state laws after going through the legislative process.
- The State Senator and their staff members respond to constituent concerns and questions through emails, phone calls, and website announcements. 
- The State Senator oversees the executive branch and can vote to overrule a veto by the Governor.   
- There are 50 Pennsylvania state senators, each representing a single district.
- Senators must be at least 25 years old, U.S. citizens, and residents of Pennsylvania for four years. They must also have lived in their district for one year before the election and must remain there throughout their term.
- State senators are elected to four-year terms and have a salary of $106,000, with a 1-3% annual increase.  

Your representative and state lawmaker in the Pennsylvania Senate.