(WHTM) — Pennsylvania is one step closer to limiting the number of patients each nurse has to take care of.

Nurses rallied in front of the Capitol building on Tuesday to support a “safe staffing” bill that passed through the House Health Committee with mostly Democratic support.

However, the lead sponsor of the bill is a Republican from Dauphin County who said support from the nurse’s union did not affect his decision.

“It’s not about unions. It’s not about anything else. It’s about the safety of patients. It’s about what you do to make a patient like me comfortable,” said Rep. Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin County.)

“They’re asking for is just something simple. They are asking to be able to have a safe work environment so that they can take care of the patients,” added Rep. Bridget Kosierowski (D- Lackawanna County.)

The bill now heads to the full House, and if it passes there it will advance to the Republican-controlled Senate.