State Senator Jay Costa represents portions of the City
of Pittsburgh, East Hills communities, areas of the Mon Valley and South Hills
(43rd District).
As a lifelong resident of Allegheny County. Before his election to the
Senate, Sen. Costa was a deputy sheriff in Allegheny County and Allegheny County
Register of Wills. He is currently a Principal in the downtown Pittsburgh law
firm Dickie McCamey & Chilcote P.C.
Sen. Costa was elected Senate Democratic leader in 2010. Previously, he
served as Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations and Judiciary Committees
and was Caucus chair. He now chairs the Rules & Executive Nominations
Committee and co-chairs the General Assembly’s Arts and Culture Caucus.
Sen. Costa’s legislative record of accomplishment is long and features
signature laws in the areas of education, family law, judicial reform, public
safety, job creation and health care. Early in his career, Sen. Costa prime
sponsored the plan (FAIRx) to leverage rebates to lower drug costs for seniors –
a concept later signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell. He was a strong supporter of
expanding the nationally-recognized CHIP program and Medicaid. He also authored
legislation to direct cooperative agreements between insurers and providers as a
means to resolve the Highmark/UPMC coverage dispute.
Over the course of his legislative career, Sen. Costa has been a strong,
effective promoter of education. From seeking additional funding for K-12
education, higher education and pre-school he is recognized as one of the
General Assembly’s leaders for education. In addition to accessing more funding
for schools, he sought new state-of-the-art technologies for the classroom, in
addition to sponsoring far-reaching property tax relief
proposals.