State Senator Lisa M. Boscola has spent the majority of her professional career working long, hard  hours to help improve the  lives of residents of the Lehigh Valley.  Being a life-long resident of the Lehigh Valley, Senator Boscola is intimately familiar with the issues that face her district and the people which she represents.  First elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1994, Senator Boscola is serving her third term representing the 18th Senatorial District, currently consisting of Northampton, Monroe and Lehigh Counties.  Senator Boscola currently serves as the Democratic Chair of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and also serves as a member of the Appropriations Committee.             Over the years, Senator Boscola has worked tirelessly to bring property tax reform to the residents of Pennsylvania and has voted  “NO”  to every state tax increase,  legislative pay raise and pension increase during her terms in office.  Senator Boscola has also brought  home to the Lehigh Valley and Pocono Mountain Region its fair share of State funds by fighting for and personally delivering more than $6.5 million dollars in grants for worthwhile local projects, as well as ensuring that our emergency services are equipped with the tools necessary to protect our communities, through grant and loan programs.            Continuing her commitment to fighting for the working families and small businesses of the 18th District, Senator Boscola began the effort in the 2007-08 legislative session to the extend the rate caps placed upon electric utilities as part of the de-regulation law passed a decade earlier that are to begin being removed in January 2010.  Citing record profits from the utilities and outlandish compensation packages for their corporate executives, Senator Boscola stated that a possible 50% or more rate increase would unduly harm working families, senior citizens and the business community, small and large, at a time of great economic uncertainty.  She is continuing this fight into the 2009-10 legislative session.            Senator Boscola received her Bachelors and Masters degrees from Villanova University.  Prior to her election to the General Assembly, Senator Boscola served as Deputy Court Administrator with Northampton County.            In addition to serving as Minority Chair of the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Boscola also serves on the Judiciary, Banking and Insurance, Transportation and Game & Fisheries Committees.  She is also an active member of the Legislative Sportsmen Caucus, American-Italian Caucus, Autism Caucus, Firefighter and Emergency Services Caucus and the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.            Senator Boscola resides in Bethlehem Township with her husband, Ed Boscola, and her two cats, Trixie and Turbo.