PRINTER'S NO. 2402
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 282
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY OTTEN, O'MARA, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, FREEMAN, SANCHEZ,
VENKAT, GIRAL AND MADDEN, DECEMBER 11, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, DECEMBER 11, 2023
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing the year 2023 as the "Taylor Swift Era" in
2 Pennsylvania, in celebration of Ms. Swift's recent selection
3 as TIME Magazine's 2023 Person of the Year and acknowledgment
4 of her positive impact on Pennsylvania's economy, voter
5 registration numbers, consumer protections and pro-labor
6 practices.
7 WHEREAS, Taylor Alison Swift was born December 13, 1989, in
8 West Reading, Berks County, to Scott and Andrea Swift; and
9 WHEREAS, Through talent, hard work and determination, Ms.
10 Swift has transcended the role of pop star, becoming a veritable
11 cultural and economic force; and
12 WHEREAS, Ms. Swift shines as a role model of courage, self-
13 acceptance and self-determination, persisting in the face of
14 personal and professional obstacles and challenges; and
15 WHEREAS, In 2023, Ms. Swift's Eras Tour spurred an economic
16 boom for every city she visited, with positive impacts felt in
17 the hospitality, travel, tourism, retail and even housing
18 sectors; and
19 WHEREAS, The Federal Reserve credited Ms. Swift with boosting
20 local economies, including raising hotel revenues in
 1 Philadelphia to the highest point since the pandemic; and
2 WHEREAS, A study by Architectural Digest credits the Eras
3 Tour with a measurable increase in home values to cities on the
4 tour, including a 4% increase in Pittsburgh; and
5 WHEREAS, Ticketmaster's inability to handle the unprecedented
6 demand for tickets for Ms. Swift's Eras Tour resulted in both a
7 United States Department of Justice inquiry and a United States
8 Congressional antitrust hearing into the practices of
9 Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, The same Ticketmaster shortcomings spurred the House
12 of Representatives to pass a package of bills protecting
13 consumers from the deceptive practices of junk fees, Grinch Bots
14 and speculative ticketing; and
15 WHEREAS, Ms. Swift has been lauded for her generosity to her
16 staff, her fans and philanthropic and charitable causes,
17 particularly hunger relief organizations, including
18 Philabundance and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, Ms. Swift's Get Out The Vote plea to her followers
21 on National Voter Registration Day resulted in a 22.5% jump in
22 voter registrations over the previous year and a 115% increase
23 in individuals 18 years of age registering compared to the
24 previous year; and
25 WHEREAS, The release of Ms. Swift's concert film, "Taylor
26 Swift: The Eras Tour," resulted in a second economic boom,
27 breaking single-day advance ticket sales records for AMC
28 Theatres and boosting sales for theater owners facing the
29 impacts of the SAG-AFTRA strike; and
30 WHEREAS, Ms. Swift, herself a SAG-AFTRA union member,
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 1 produced her concert film entirely in compliance with the
2 guild's new standards and obtained the union's blessing to
3 produce and promote the film during the ongoing strike; and
4 WHEREAS, The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts posits that
5 Ms. Swift's bold move of negotiating directly with AMC for
6 distribution of the concert film rather than selling the rights
7 to a film studio may have hastened the resolution of the strike
8 with favorable terms for SAG-AFTRA members; and
9 WHEREAS, Ms. Swift's rise in power and prominence in 2023
10 coincides with the elections of the first female President pro
11 tempore of the Senate, the first female Speaker of the House of
12 Representatives, the first female Mayor of Philadelphia and the
13 first female Allegheny County Executive; and
14 WHEREAS, Ms. Swift's singular economic and cultural influence
15 both demonstrates and elevates the power of female agency,
16 feminine ideas, feminine art and a distinctly feminine
17 narrative, countering traditional, patriarchal structures of
18 power and economic influence; and
19 WHEREAS, On December 5, 2023, TIME Magazine declared, "[f]or
20 building a world of her own that made a place for so many, for
21 spinning her story into a global legend, for bringing joy to a
22 society desperately in need of it, Taylor Swift is TIME's 2023
23 Person of the Year"; therefore be it
24 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
25 year 2023 as the "Taylor Swift Era" in Pennsylvania, in
26 celebration of Ms. Swift's recent selection as TIME Magazine's
27 2023 Person of the Year and acknowledgment of her positive
28 impact on Pennsylvania's economy, voter registration numbers,
29 consumer protections and pro-labor practices; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That on December 13, 2023, the occasion of Ms.
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1 Swift's 34th birthday, the House of Representatives encourage
2 the celebration of her historic achievements, extend best wishes
3 for her continued happiness and success and express gratitude
4 for her contributions to our culture, our economy and our
5 Commonwealth.
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