Things must be slow at the Statehouse.

Or our legislators have lost their minds.

Although the commonwealth is facing many issues, such as accurately drawing congressional maps to represent the state, getting the economy humming along again during a pandemic, and funding the repair of our crumbling roads and bridges, three frivolous bills have been introduced in recent weeks.

Our favorite?

State Sen. Melissa Shusterman, D-117th, is proposing a bill that would ban single-use plastic bottles from hotel rooms. You know, the ones that contain shampoo and mouthwash. She says they rarely are recycled and add to our ever-growing solid waste problem.

This piece of groundbreaking legislation comes on the heels of a measure introduced by state Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-111th, who is proposing a modest tax credit for those portraying Santa Claus due to a labor shortage in the occupation.

Fritz cited a Wall Street Journal article that reported the currently tight labor market includes those portraying Jolly St. Nick who are charging more and dealing with packed schedules this holiday season.

“Santas help create lifelong memories — from photos with children, riding by on a firetruck during a parade, or leading a gift exchange at a work party — and they are an indispensable holiday tradition for many Pennsylvanians,” Fritz said in a memo to his fellow House members.

He said one estimate has demand for Santas increasing 121% this year, while the availability has dropped 10%.

Fritz said Santas are “on the front lines of holiday merriment,” which is sorely needed this year for the mental health and general well-being of all Pennsylvanians.

Also in the hopper in Harrisburg is a proposal which would make Pennsylvania a leader in studying magic mushrooms as a treatment for mental illness.

Although this has some merit, it still seems like a low-priority issue.

The proposed legislation, the Public Health Benefits of Psilocybin Act, would establish a framework for clinical studies of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. It would give researchers some cover for sidestepping cumbersome federal regulations that still categorize the substance as having no accepted medical use despite growing evidence that it does. Listed as the prime sponsor is state Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, R-14th, and an Army veteran whose bill has 20 cosponsors, a rare mix of Democrats and Republicans.

The bill envisions research and clinical trials by universities, medical research institutes and medical schools that are attached to a hospital and a university.

Here’s where things get complicated, because psilocybin, like cannabis, heroin, and LSD, is on the list of the most restricted substances, known as Schedule I, at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

We sincerely hope our legislators find some common sense in their stockings on Christmas morning and are a able to start the new year ready to tackle the real problems facing the commonwealth.

— JGG