June 25, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesA big education fight stands in the way of a Pa. budget dealby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAWith the PA budget deadline approaching, lawmakers have found common ground on taxes, permitting, and college. But crucially, they’re far from a deal on basic education funding.
June 24, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PACredit card ‘swipe fees’ could decrease under new Pa. bill, but banks hate the ideaby Trebor Maitin for Spotlight PAA bill that would slightly reduce credit card ‘swipe fees’ is moving quickly through the Pa. legislature, but while merchants are on board, banks and credit card companies are not.
June 21, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAColleges would face financial punishments for boycotting or divesting from Israel under new Pa. billby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAAs students protest the war in Gaza and urge colleges to divest from Israel, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania lawmakers wants to ensure administrators won’t listen.
June 19, 2024Ed Mahon / Spotlight PALegal cannabis likely won’t be in this year’s budget, but supporters say there’s a silver liningby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAAdvocates for legal cannabis say they're closer than ever to success, citing allies in both parties.
June 12, 2024Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PAJay-Z enters one of Pa.’s messiest political fightsby Stephen Caruso and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAJay-Z’s company Roc Nation is funding informational events to get Philadelphians on board with using taxpayer money for private school vouchers.
June 11, 2024Commonwealth Media Services‘Momnibus’ bills would expand access to doulas, provide essentials to new parentsby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAGov. Josh Shapiro and legislative Democrats want Pennsylvania to invest more in maternal health care. Some of their ideas could end up in this year’s budget.
June 10, 2024Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PACyber charter changes that could save public schools $530M may be in this year’s budgetby Katie Meyer of Spotlight PASome lawmakers hope that the legislature will finally reach a consensus on how to update Pennsylvania’s charter school law.
May 24, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAThe COVID pandemic let Pa. House lawmakers vote remotely. The GOP says it’s time to restrict that rule.by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PADemocrats continued to vote on behalf of a lawmaker after police issued a warrant for his arrest, leading Republicans to again call for restrictions on the practice.
May 17, 2024Kent M. Wilhelm / Spotlight PAPa.’s judges must reveal the perks they accept, but the public won’t find those disclosures onlineby Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PAWhile disclosures filed by state government officials are published online, judges’ forms aren’t. The public must ask for copies — provided they know where to go for that information.
May 16, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesEducation funding boost, tax cuts on table as Pa. budget talks beginby Stephen Caruso, Kate Huangpu, and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAPennsylvania lawmakers are entering budget negotiations with a roughly $14 billion surplus. So far, they have different priorities for using it.
May 13, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PASuper Bowl tickets, luxury resort stay among perks Pa. lawmakers accepted in 2023by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PALawmakers accepted trips bankrolled by campaign groups, organizations pushing alternatives to public education, and more. Public officials in Pennsylvania are allowed to accept essentially any gift.
May 8, 2024Courtesy of Holli ZelinskyStuck between high fees and low wages, how much money will it take to fix PA child care staffing crisis?by Ed Mahon of Spotlight PAGov. Josh Shapiro has proposed increasing taxpayer money for child care, but advocates say the ultimate cost needs to be far higher.
April 3, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesWhy Pa.’s efforts to regulate social media companies have failed so farby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PABills to ban TikTok on state-owned phones and regulate kids’ social media accounts have been debated in Pennsylvania, but lawmakers haven’t found a consensus.
March 28, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PA‘Dark money’ groups would be forced to disclose how they spend on Pa.’s elections under advancing billby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PATwo bills would make small changes to the state’s notoriously lax campaign finance laws, which put no limit on the amount of money donors can give candidates and political committees.
March 18, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAGov. Josh Shapiro wants to spend $80M to attack Pennsylvania's housing crisis. Here's how.by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PAGov. Shapiro’s proposed budget would put state money behind a popular home repair program, anti-homelessness initiatives, and public legal defense against evictions.
March 14, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAPennsylvania is flush with surplus cash, but it still faces a looming budget problemby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAPennsylvania persistently spends more than it makes in revenue, but lawmakers have struggled for years to agree on lasting solutions.
March 7, 2024Courtesy Office of state Sen. Kristin Phillips-HillPa. Game Commission won’t renew controversial contract with lobbying firm run by former top lawmakerby Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PASeveral Republican state senators expressed concerns about using public funds to pay for the services of private lobbyists.
Feb. 22, 2024Ed Mahon / Spotlight PAWhat to know about Shapiro’s pitch to legalize marijuana, its chances in the Pa. legislature, and moreby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAUnlike his predecessor, Gov. Josh Shapiro has the benefit of a Democratic-led state House and a state Senate where attitudes appear to be shifting.
Feb. 19, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAPa. election 2024: The state Senate races to watch as Democrats seek the majorityby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAPolitical insiders told Spotlight PA that only a small number of districts, mostly in Western and central Pennsylvania, are competitive in this year’s state Senate elections.
Feb. 16, 2024Sarah Anne Hughes / Spotlight PAShapiro wants to tax skill games. He must first navigate Pa.’s wealthy, warring gambling interests.by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PABecause skill games aren’t explicitly legal in Pennsylvania, the question of whether the games should be allowed to operate has led to State Police seizures and years of litigation over their status.
Feb. 15, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesTreasurer Stacy Garrity’s decision to invest more Pa. money in Israel Bonds draws protest, Democratic oppositionby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAPennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is facing reelection this year, bought $20 million in Israel Bonds to show support. Her Democratic opponents question her motives.
Feb. 13, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PADemocrats maintain control of Pennsylvania House after Bucks County special electionby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PADemocrat Jim Prokopiak, a local school board member, won the special election to succeed former state Rep. John Galloway.
Feb. 13, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesJosh Shapiro accepted $1,650 in ‘event tickets’ from powerful Pa. lobbyistby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAThe tickets were reported as an in-kind contribution by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s campaign committee, rather than a gift.
Feb. 12, 2024Leise Hook / For Spotlight PA and VotebeatThis Pa. activist is the source of false and flawed election claims gaining traction across the countryby Carter Walker of VotebeatA Spotlight PA / Votebeat investigation found Heather Honey’s flawed claims have been cited by ex-President Donald Trump and fueled GOP backlash against a tool intended to keep voter rolls accurate.
Feb. 9, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesPa. could wipe out up to $400M in medical debt under proposal from Gov. Josh Shapiroby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAGov. Josh Shapiro’s budget calls for Pennsylvania to use $4 million to buy medical debt. The proposal must win support from the GOP-controlled state Senate.
Feb. 8, 2024Colin Deppen / For Spotlight PAFormer top Pa. lawmaker's lobbying firm paid $41K by Game Commission in unusual arrangementby Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PAGood-government advocates and some Pennsylvania lawmakers have questioned whether taxpayers benefit when their money is used in this way, and other states have banned or restricted the practice.
Feb. 6, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesShapiro pitches legal cannabis, regulated skill games in budget that bumps education spending by $2.2Bby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAThe $48.3 billion plan represents a departure for first-term Gov. Josh Shapiro, who last year proposed to keep spending relatively flat.
Feb. 5, 2024Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PARaising taxes on the table as Pa. weighs how to pay for education court rulingby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAGov. Josh Shapiro is set to give his budget address, kicking off a debate over how Pennsylvania should pay for additional investments in education required by a court ruling.
Feb. 2, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesTransit, education expected to headline Shapiro’s 2024 Pa. budget addressby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAThe governor will have to get any budget plan through a Republican-controlled state Senate, a process that led to a long impasse last year.
Jan. 31, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesGov. Shapiro is pitching more funding for Pa.’s struggling transit systems. Will the state Senate agree?by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PATransit systems across Pennsylvania are struggling with inflation, even as ridership rebounds from the pandemic. State lawmakers are struggling to agree on funding to help.
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