Who is Tracy Pennycuick?

Does Tracy Pennycuick take perks?

In 2021, Post University², her alma mater, wrote that Pennycuick "has rejected healthcare and pension, as well as other perks provided to state representatives."

In 2023, she received an $8,799 trip to Taiwan paid for by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, according to City & State Pennsylvania³'s review of lawmakers' financial disclosures.

What was Tracy Pennycuick's trip to Taiwan?

In November 2023, Pennycuick traveled to Taipei with two state House members on a trip paid for by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), the Taiwanese government's office in the U.S. She reported the trip as $8,799 in travel on her financial disclosure, according to City & State Pennsylvania³.

The trip overlapped with the Senate's November 13–15 voting session. According to PennLive⁴, Pennycuick asked Senate Republican leaders to put her on "legislative leave," which let her keep voting while away. She was marked present for every session that week and voted on every bill and amendment from about 7,766 miles away, relaying her votes to the Senate Republican whip across a 13-hour time difference. The public learned about the trip after she posted a photo of Taiwanese food on a personal social media account.

Eric Epstein of the Harrisburg watchdog group Rock the Capital called it "ghost voting by another name." He told PennLive: "Whether you call it ghost voting or legislative leave, they're on a junket in Taiwan and we still don't have an education code bill done."

How much is Tracy Pennycuick paid?

In 2025, the Pennsylvania Senate held 54 session days, according to the Senate journal⁵. Pennycuick's salary⁶ worked out to about $2,037 per session day.

What is Tracy Pennycuick's position on abortion?

In 2022, as a Senate candidate, Pennycuick answered a candidate questionnaire in the Lansdale Reporter⁷. She wrote that she would "always ensure that the life of the mother is protected" and that "there are exceptions for rape and incest," adding: "while I would like see abortions become rare, I will not support a total ban on abortion."

On July 8, 2022, as a state representative, she voted yes on SB 106⁸. SB 106 bundled several proposed constitutional amendments, including one stating that the Pennsylvania Constitution does not guarantee any right to abortion or to public funding for abortion. It passed the House 107–92 (House roll call⁹).

Under Pennsylvania law, a constitutional amendment must pass the legislature in two consecutive sessions and then be approved by voters.

How did Tracy Pennycuick vote on child sex abuse survivors?

In April 2021, as a state representative, Pennycuick voted twice against HB 951¹⁰, part of the long-running effort to give survivors of child sex abuse a path to court after the 2018 statewide grand jury report on clergy abuse.

On April 6, 2021, she voted no on an amendment extending the window for child sex abuse survivors to sue their abusers. It passed 148–53 (House roll call¹¹).

On April 7, 2021, she voted no on final passage of HB 951, which also barred governments from using immunity as a defense in sexual abuse cases. It passed 149–52 (House roll call¹²).

In both votes, she was among roughly a quarter of the House voting no.

What has Tracy Pennycuick said?

On the Taiwan trip: "I feel like I'm actually more effective, being able to vote (on the day's business) while I'm still out doing other things in my legislative capacity," she told PennLive⁴. She said the trip involved meetings with businesses considering U.S. sites, including an electric bus maker.

On abortion in 2022: "This is a deeply personal and emotional issue for many," she wrote in the Lansdale Reporter questionnaire⁷.