Pennsylvania in Focus

Child care workers and advocates warned lawmakers that Pennsylvania faces a major shortage of workers and a lack of funding during a Wednesday committee hearing. Workers are leaving for better-paying and less-stressful jobs at grocery stores and in the fast-food business, and hundreds of child care options have disappeared since the pandemic. “As families return to work, we need to make sure that...

A months-long backlog of unemployment claims still haunts the Department of Labor and Industry, and top officials told the Senate Appropriations Committee that more money could help them catch up. In Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget, the department would see an 11% funding increase, about $90 million. Nancy Walker, the department's acting secretary, said the additional dollars will pay for more...

As the University of Pittsburgh prepares for a trio of events on transgender issues, thousands of students have demanded that administrators cancel them. State-level lawmakers have joined in the call as well. Free-speech advocates, however, warn that doing so harms freedom of expression and threatens the university as a place for open debate. One of the events that some students oppose will also i...

More than a month after the East Palestine train derailment and Norfolk Southern’s decision to burn vinyl chloride from five tanker cars, Pennsylvania residents want more information — and more attention from state leaders. In western Pennsylvania – a few miles from East Palestine, Ohio – residents spoke of the need for independent analysis and expanding the testing area to ensure water and soil q...

Two of Pennsylvania’s most respected economic analysts offered muddy expectations of future revenue estimates on Monday. Acting Revenue Secretary Pat Browne sat before the Senate Appropriations Committee – on which he served as majority chairman for nearly a decade before joining Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration – to discuss how to spend the $50 billion in the state’s bank account at the end of...

As Pennsylvania officials discuss an electric vehicle fee to replace the gas tax, federal funds are available to build out the EV charging infrastructure in the commonwealth. On Monday, PennDOT announced its first round of funding will open on March 27 and close May 5 for EV stations across Pennsylvania. The money will flow through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure grant program, with $...

Consensus continues building in the General Assembly as lawmakers embrace expansion of the state’s child care tax credit. What exactly an expansion looks like remains to be seen, though Gov. Josh Shapiro, Senate Republicans and House Democrats – who play key roles in negotiating the state’s budget – agree more must be done. “We have reached the point where this is no longer an issue for families,...

Farmers in western Pennsylvania began offering their soil samples for collection in recent weeks after contamination concerns about the train derailment in nearby East Palestine, Ohio went unaddressed. Cliff Wallace, president of the Beaver-Lawrence Farm Bureau, told The Center Square on Tuesday he’s spoken with property owners seven miles out from the burn site who say they saw plumes of smoke dr...

Gov. Josh Shapiro has recreational cannabis on his mind, though legalization advocates worry the tax rate could be too high. Details remain scant, but the governor’s proposed budget includes an adult-use cannabis tax in the form of a 20% wholesale tax, assuming that sales would begin in January 2025. The commonwealth would then realize revenues starting in fiscal year 2024-25. The budget estimates...

Plugging more abandoned oil and gas wells has become a bigger priority on the state and federal level, but some advocates say this isn't the most cost effective solution. When more strings get attached to funding, costs rise for projects that are already expensive, said The Well Done Foundation. Political considerations to show that something gets done also complicate matters. “Every well is absol...

Gov. Josh Shapiro made the case for his proposed budget on Tuesday, claiming only a modest spending increase while boosting business growth, funding for public education, and the commonwealth’s safety net. Shapiro also singled out tax incentives for teachers, health care workers, and police, and doing more to lure major business expansion deals to Pennsylvania like some neighboring states. “This b...

Senate Republicans emphasized family-friendly policies and economic growth as they described their agenda for the legislative session on Wednesday. How much agreement and compromise that will come from a Democratic-controlled House and governor’s mansion, though, remains to be seen. Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith and Reporter Anthony Hennen. --- Listen to Other ATN Pro...

Joanna McClinton took a step into history on Tuesday, elected speaker of Pennsylvania's House of Representatives. She is the first Black woman to hold the position. It opened when Democrat Mark Rozzi resigned earlier in the day, and the chamber followed with a 102-99 vote for the District 191 representative over Republican Rep. Carl Metzgar. Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Sm...

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania became the first to subpoena Norfolk Southern over its handling of the train derailment in nearby East Palestine, Ohio. The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee voted on Wednesday to invoke the privilege one month after more than 50 train cars jumped the track following a mechanical failure, a preliminary federal inquiry shows. Join The Center Squa...

A comparison of tax levels of the 50 states shows residents in Pennsylvania still pay more than most other Americans. In a yearly comparison carried out by the Independent Fiscal Office, Pennsylvania is above-average with its tax burden. The tax burden is different from overall tax rates: it is measured as a ratio of revenues collected by a tax to levels of personal income. The focus is on how muc...

At the first public hearing hosted by the Pennsylvania Senate about the Norfolk Southern train derailment in nearby East Palestine, Ohio, affected residents expressed their anger, their fear, their frustration — and their utter disappointment in state officials who have a duty to keep them safe. Held by the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, Pennsylvanians living near Ea...

A special Pennsylvania House panel wasted no time Tuesday approving two alternative pathways toward civil retribution for adult survivors of child sexual abuse. But the offers fall well short of adequate, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, told The Center Square – a comment that appears to foreshadow the long fight ahead. Join The Center Square's Christen Smith and Anthony Hennen on th...

Join The Center Square's Managing Editor Alan Wooten and Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith as they discuss state and local leaders said Tuesday that Norfolk Southern’s response to a train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border ignored best practices and prioritized speed over safety. Commonwealth Court declared Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional recently and, as such, dia...

Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith and Pennsylvania Reporter Anthony Hennen as they discuss Pennsylvania having a number of tax subsidy programs that boost favored industries with public funding. The state’s largest program, however, attracts less attention than many smaller programs. And it isn’t a fund for economic development, or emerging tech, or health care. Democrats...

Take 5 minutes to get caught up to date with how schools in Pennsylvania are using a loophole to reorganize funds to raise taxes. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith and Pennsylvania Reporter Anthony Hennen as they discuss how Pennsylvania schools hide funds to raise taxes without breaking the law. Local governments bring in billions of dollars from fines and fees across the country annually – and Pennsylvania localities collected more than $202 million in 2020, a new analysis shows. --- Listen to Oth...

Take 5 minutes to get caught up to date with the audit that shows twelve Pennsylvania school districts hid $400 million to pass tax increases. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith and Pennsylvania Reporter Anthony Hennen as they discuss Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi said that, despite serving as a state representative since 2012, he’s just now learned “Harrisburg is broken.” A Pennsylvania survivor-turned-lawmaker asked his fellow Republicans to unbundle three constitutional amendments. A dozen school distr...

Take 5 minutes to get caught up with the executive order that results in Pennsylvania dropping college degree mandate for state jobs. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith and Pennsylvania Reporter Anthony Hennen as they discuss Pennsylvania lawmakers bid adieu to Harrisburg Wednesday for an unanticipated five-week reprieve from the legislative session schedule. In his first executive action since becoming governor, Josh Shapiro abolished college degree requirements for state job listings in hopes of expand...