Pennsylvania in Focus

Hundreds of inmates die in Pennsylvania’s state prisons and county jails, but oversight is superficial at best. Deaths in custody rose from 171 in 2019 to 239 in 2020 in state prisons, and 56 prisoners died in county jails in 2020, a two-decade high in Pennsylvania. And numbers could be higher — reporting requirements for both institutions are weak. Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/penn...

On a cold, windy, wet Wednesday in South Philadelphia, Dave McCormick stopped at Geno’s to grab four “wiz wit” cheesesteaks. The Republican nominee for U.S. Senate met a few dozen supporters and campaign staffers at the well-known cheesesteak spot – walking the last block after his tour bus ran into trouble on 10th Street, the narrow lane and cramped parking making a wide turn tricky. “It was awes...

A new plan set in motion on Monday could shake loose a constitutional amendment to enact universal photograph identification to vote. House Republican leadership said letting the bill languish in committee ignores the popularity of the policy among voters, especially those anxious about election security. “There are stronger rules in place for signing out a Curious George book for kids than there...

More than a year beyond the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical burn that brought national attention to East Palestine, residents on the Ohio and Pennsylvania sides of the border feel abandoned, forgotten and discarded by legislators. “Our Pennsylvania constitutional rights were violated and continue to be violated,” said Sheila Stiegler, an organic farmer in Lawrence County near East P...

For the fourth year in a row, legislators think Pennsylvania’s election law needs more updates. And for the fourth year in a row, there’s little consensus about what those reforms should look like. It’s typically a question of convenience versus security, though both camps would argue it’s not that simple. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support...

Gov. Josh Shapiro won’t send the Pennsylvania National Guard to the Mexican border. In response to legislation approved in the state Senate on Tuesday, the administration told The Center Square that congressional immigration reform is the solution to border security concerns. “Governor Shapiro has been clear that our country needs a secure border and Congress needs to pass comprehensive reform to...

Pennsylvanians worry about pollution and other harms to nature — but their primary concern is keeping energy bills low and ensuring reliable power. And, to deal with climate change, almost 8 in 10 Pennsylvanians aren’t willing to spend $100 or more every year out of pocket. A new survey on Pennsylvanians’ energy thoughts, released by the Commonwealth Foundation on Thursday, shows  strong support  ...

Pittsburgh’s recent decision to reroute early morning emergency calls comes one year after the mayor planned to triple police presence downtown. The policy change, announced Feb. 22, means calls received between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. for crimes not in progress – including theft, harassment and criminal mischief – will reroute to the Telephone Reporting Unit. The unit is staffed from 7 a.m. until 3 a.m...

 Gov. Josh Shapiro introduced a new plan to limit carbon emissions from power plants on Wednesday that echoes the program legislative Republicans abhor so much they sued the administration to thwart it. This time, however, instead of supporting a multi-state auction like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, Shapiro wants to keep the revenue collected from a state-imposed emissions cap...

 The cost of Pennsylvania’s extensive Medicaid waiver pending before the federal government leaves some lawmakers wary as budget talks stretch into their second week. Department of Human Services Secretary Valerie Arkoosh told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that it wants more funding to expand eligibility for safety net programs for five years, as well as bolster the services they...

The Shapiro administration said Monday it supports giving non-citizens driver’s licenses, following a trend across the Mid-Atlantic that posits the policy change as a safety measure. “There are reports of over a dozen states that already allow non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to obtain driver’s licenses,” Rep. Mike Cabell, R-Dallas, said. “Meanwhile, federal DHS policy stipulates that s...

Pennsylvania lawmakers rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday to erase outstanding medical debts for thousands of residents. House Bill 78 would create a new program in the Department of Health that would discharge debt for residents living at-or-below 400% of the federal poverty level – or up to $60,240 for a single person and $124,800 for a family of four. Obligations totaling 5% or more of a person'...

House Republicans support Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's rhetoric to reform the commonwealth’s permitting process, but they’re not satisfied with the pace of his push. “We have a governor that ran on permitting reform,” Rep. Josh Kail, R-Beaver, said. “Unfortunately, there hasn't been progress made the way there should have been in the first year of his administration.” The House GOP Policy Comm...

As fentanyl-connected overdoses kill thousands of Pennsylvanians every year, the opioid shows up in traffic-crash data, too. A study from Jerry, a car insurance app, found that 6% of Philadelphia’s fatal crashes involved drugs from 2018-2021. The data, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, showed that 2% of all traffic fatalities in the city were connected to fentanyl. That’s th...

As Pennsylvania lawmakers kick off annual budget hearings on Tuesday, the Independent Fiscal Office fielded questions about revenue projections, the minimum wage and what could cause problems for the general fund. In his budget presentation to the Senate Appropriations Committee, IFO Director Matthew Knittel noted that his office was less rosy that the governor's administration on the state’s tax-...

A sense of frustration spread through the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday as legislators struggled to get the specifics of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s higher education reform plan. Chancellor Dan Greenstein, head of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, wasn’t privy to the details either, but reiterated his appeal for more funding to deliver another tuition freeze for PAS...

After legalizing fentanyl test strips last session, the Pennsylvania House wants to expand its harm reduction approach by allowing syringe services. Though it has some bipartisan support, many House Republicans caution against such a move, concerned about safety in already-suffering neighborhoods. A House Judiciary Committee meeting on Wednesday voted 15-10 to advance a bill that would allow syrin...

Amid debate over legalizing adult-use marijuana, lawmakers say Pennsylvania’s medical program needs some improvements – and call on the governor to lead the way. The medical program grinds against federal law: every cardholder faces the loss of their Second Amendment rights. That tradeoff was made clear in January when Warren County District Attorney Rob Greene announced that he obtained a medical...

 A Microsoft policy executive said to Pennsylvania lawmakers this week he’s "unaware" of the possibility that generative artificial intelligence could develop sentiency and become exploitive – even dangerous. “This is not new to Microsoft,” said Tyler Clark, Microsoft’s director of state and local government affairs. “Humans need to guide this technology and that’s what we are committed to doing s...

 Pennsylvania’s energy future isn’t only a question of renewables versus fossil fuels — it’s a question of whether the state can reliably provide enough energy to meet growing demand. One problem is that power plants retiring is happening quicker than new, cleaner ones get built. The shuttering has been driven by state and federal rules to mitigate pollution, but getting projects approved and buil...

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second budget address again touted major spending for education, a statewide economic investment plan and significant funding for public transit. All of this, he argued, could be done with a balanced budget and no new taxes, along with a minimum wage increase, a new gun violence office and the legalization of recreational marijuana. And, perhaps most importantly, c...

A recent state Supreme Court ruling side-stepped the question of constitutional abortion access in Pennsylvania, reviving discussion over a would-be ballot referendum mired in legislative gridlock. Five justices said Monday the Commonwealth Court erred when it dismissed a 2019 case brought by seven abortion providers challenging Medicaid coverage restrictions first established in 1982 and upheld i...

As the one-year anniversary approaches of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, President Joe Biden says he will soon visit the area to meet with locals and assess the recovery efforts. The White House has not confirmed when, but said that a trip to the site near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border would be made in February. The derailment of the Norfolk Southern train, just east of the town cent...

The growing trend of large corporations imposing exorbitant rent increases after acquiring manufactured home communities limits affordable housing options and threatens the financial security of those on fixed incomes – especially seniors. That’s why a coalition of communities in Pennsylvania is advocating for legislation that would protect residents from this practice. Manufactured homes are buil...

 Nearly 4,500 dealerships representing all major auto manufacturing brands from every state recently signed a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to “tap the brakes” on his proposed electric vehicle mandate based on a lack of consumer demand. Since the letter was sent in November 2023, dealerships continue to add their names to the list – including 85 from Pennsylvania. The Biden administrati...