Pennsylvania in Focus

Rural America has 20% of the country’s population and 46% of the nation’s car crashes. A lack of resources, both in cash and workers, poses a challenge to avoiding wrecks and deaths. Though rural traffic studies have been of questionable quality, a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association suggests broader cooperation to pool local resources, more public outreach, and better road de...

A circle of farmers in Pennsylvania have embraced hemp as state and federal money encourages growth of the industry. With government support, farmers troubleshoot how hemp plays a role in the production of textiles, paper, automotive bio-composites, and construction projects. The need, advocates argue, lies in more research funding and building new markets in the commonwealth to support the crop....

Pennsylvania’s public higher education system received bipartisan praise when it didn’t raise tuition for a fifth year. The General Assembly’s relationship with the commonwealth’s state-related universities, however, has been rockier as political disagreements and rising costs have made legislative Republicans more skeptical of the status quo. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/p...

The Senate’s top-ranking Republican called lawmakers back to Harrisburg to face the $45.5 billion spending plan sitting on the chamber’s desk for the last four weeks. It's the same budget they all voted for on June 30, before the House did the same five days later. All the Senate had left to do was sign it – per parliamentary procedure – and wait for the blessing of Gov. Josh Shapiro's pen. Suppor...

An urban search and rescue team could come to western Pennsylvania at the behest of a bipartisan group of state lawmakers — but not with the endorsement of the state’s emergency response director. Philadelphia hosts a federally funded PA Task Force 1, one of 28 federal urban search & rescue teams, while the rest of the commonwealth relies on smaller teams. Two bills,  House Bill 843  and  Senate B...

Pennsylvania hospitals may soon test urine samples for fentanyl and xylazine, two of the most common additives found in heroin. The state government legalized fentanyl test strips for personal use last year, following a number of other states responding to more overdose deaths in the last decade. More than  5,200 Pennsylvanians  have died from an overdose death in the last year, according to CDC d...

While the Pennsylvania budget stalemate remains, senators argued over the importance of school choice and increasing public school funding at a committee hearing in Reading. The Senate Education Committee met Tuesday to discuss “student opportunities for success,” hearing from parents of children in public and private schools in Reading, as well as public school leaders of Reading School District....

In the fight against blight, neglectful property owners may soon feel more pressure to clean up their act – or else lose control to a land bank. House Bill 1163 , now awaiting action in the Senate, would let municipalities take a “use it or lose it” approach to blight. Once a locality declares a property blighted or abandoned, it could then be deemed liable to be acquired by a land bank. Support t...

As natural gas production expands in other states, Pennsylvania’s has flatlined and seen productivity declines. Industry leaders blame permitting issues and other roadblocks, while environmentalists say the economic outlook for gas has weakened and nature benefits. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company....

A redundant permitting process, delays, and problems with getting plugged into the grid means headaches are routine for new power projects. For one renewable hydroelectric plant, the process has driven up the cost of the project by 30% — if not more. A plan to build seven turbine-generators at the Braddock Locks and Dam outside Pittsburgh to produce 5.25 megawatts of electricity, as The Center Squ...

Both chambers of the General Assembly officially left Harrisburg for the summer — an ominous sign that the bipartisan wound won’t heal anytime soon. The development comes nearly two weeks after the Senate recessed until mid-September, furious over  Gov. Josh Shapiro’s default on a $45.5 billion budget deal  — complete with a new $100 million school choice program he helped draft — amid resistance...

Pennsylvania officials will soon have a five-year action plan for how to build out universal broadband service across the state. As federal funds roll out nationally, however, demand for labor will be high and could make the task harder. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...

Pennsylvania’s legislators have one of the highest salaries in the nation, and generous reimbursement rules for expenses can send more taxpayer money into their pockets. A proposed bill could change those rules, however, limiting the checks to cover only costs that lawmakers actually paid. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplec...

Pennsylvania ranks high among the list of states reporting a rise in deaths from an animal tranquilizer that’s immune to existing overdose-reversing medications. Xylazine, also called Tranq, killed 102 people in 2018, according to federal data. That figure increased 35-fold just three years later. For the states in CDC’s Region 3 – Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Wash...

The governor’s vow to veto funding for a new school choice scholarship program and end the budget impasse may prove ineffective after all. Thanks to the complexities of the legislative process, the state’s annual spending plan requires multiple enabling pieces of legislation – commonly referred to as “code bills” — to become effective. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/...

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will soon see a new commissioner focused on fare collection and reducing how much tolls increase annually. Keith Leaphart, a physician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, received a unanimous and favorable recommendation from the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday for the Turnpike Commissioner position. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.co...

After multiple hearings, Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt's nomination cleared his first legislative hurdle. On Monday, the Senate State Government Committee voted 10-1 to recommend Schmidt’s nomination. Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Chambersburg, was the only member to vote against Schmidt, who had appeared before the committee twice earlier this month. Support this podcast: https://podca...

Lifeline scholarships in Pennsylvania just got a celebrity endorsement, according to a letter sent to the governor’s administration Thursday. Meek Mill – a rapper, activist, and Philadelphia native – is one of the lead signatories on a letter sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro, two of his cabinet members, and the General Assembly that says the Lifeline Scholarship program will free students trapped in “fai...

As solar capacity in Pennsylvania grows rapidly – accounting for more than half of the state's proposed energy projects – so do questions about how maintenance costs for the power grid should be distributed. During a public hearing hosted by the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on Tuesday, experts tussled over whether legal favoritism for solar projects – combined wi...

The Senate introduced a proposal for lifeline scholarships Thursday without fanfare, despite the policy’s high ranking on Republicans’ legislative priority list. Senate Bill 795 would create spending-restricted accounts for students living in low-performing districts to pay for private school tuition, tutoring, and other educational expenses. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/po...

In some schools across the state, students walk the same halls that children of Civil War soldiers once did – a fact lawmakers find shameful, not venerable. House Education Committee Chairman Peter Schweyer, D-Allentown, represents one such school in his district: Harrison-Morton Middle School, built in 1874, and on track to graduate its 150th class next year. Support this podcast: https://podcast...

The state House approved a boosted phone surcharge for 911 services, even though the proposal’s tie to inflation sparked division among lawmakers who all agree the state’s emergency services system needs more money. House Bill 1304 increases the monthly fee assessed on phone bills from $1.65 to $1.97, to adjust every year after with the consumer price index until the provision sunsets in 2029. Doi...

The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a law last year to curtail dirt bikes and ATVs from use in cities across the state, but not all localities are happy with it. In Philadelphia, the regulations cause problems for a pre-existing local ordinance. Before the state law passed, Philadelphia’s off-road vehicle law had stronger provisions, but that has now been superseded by the legislature. One wa...

Tax credits for workers and families advanced to the Pennsylvania House floor this week, setting the stage for a partisan showdown over the ballooning cost of incentive programs moving through the chamber. Lawmakers clashed over two bills – one to create an earned income tax and another to expand the state’s existing child care tax credit – in the House Finance Committee on Tuesday. Support this p...

Unexpected revenues woven into a new budget proposal on Monday pads Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desired bottom line, though by how much remains a point of controversy among lawmakers. The plan increases public education spending by $491 million and splits $450 million between two restricted accounts reserved for school facilities modernization and whole home repairs. There’s also cuts to certain governmen...