The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has declared 2023 the state’s “Taylor Swift Era.”
That’s right, House Resolution 282 was adopted in a 103-100 vote on December 13th, 2023, officially recording this past year as the “Taylor Swift Era” in the state of Pennsylvania, celebrating Consequence’s Artist of the Year for her myriad of landmark achievements.
Sponsored by Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, the resolution’s language highlights Swift’s impacts on the economy and populace of Pennsylvania, citing everything from her fans’ struggle with Ticketmaster to her donations to charity, her participation in Get Out the Vote campaigns, the financial stimulus of her historic “Eras Tour,” and more as justification. “It is clear that Pennsylvania is in its ‘Taylor Swift Era,’” the resolution reads.
The resolution also notes that Swift is a Pennsylvanian native who grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Berks County. Last week, Time magazine named Swift its Person of the Year for 2023, which lawmakers noted marks the very first time that a Pennsylvania native has been “independently recognized” with the honor.
Some lawmakers, such as Rep. Wendy Fink, opposed the resolution. Speaking on the floor, Fink said that “House resolutions are not legislation, and their considerations should not be a function of our government.” In response, upon the passage of the resolution, Speaker Rep. Joanna McClinton joked that “Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,” quoting Swift’s 2014 song, “Shake It Off.” Watch highlights of the session from AP below.
As we highlight in our story explaining how Swift became the Artist of the Year, 2023 has seen the 34-year-old become a billionaire, earn more No. 1 albums than any woman in history, set the record for most albums in the Billboard 200 at the same time, embarked on the most-profitable tour of all time, released the biggest concert film of all time to go with it, and much, much more.
And, amazingly, Swift isn’t done yet. 2023 may have been a big year, but she’s booked through the better part of 2024 as well, including stops in Japan, Australia, Europe, and North America. Check out her upcoming dates, and grab tickets here.
Editor’s Note: Listen and subscribe to our Taylor Swift podcast, Good for a Weekend
