March 13, 2025Kalliyan Winder / Next Generation NewsroomLottery pushes Pa. lawmakers to end profit rules for bigger jackpotsby Abigail Hakas of Next Generation NewsroomThe Pennsylvania Lottery wants to sell more big-prize tickets. Will it generate more revenue — or fuel gambling problems?
March 12, 2025Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PAExtra funding for 100s of Pa. districts in question. See if yours could be affected.by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PAKey Republicans are questioning whether an “adequacy” supplement targeted at underfunded schools is inherently unfair.
March 10, 2025Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PA1000s waiting as Shapiro admin again tries to convince lawmakers to fund home repairs programby Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PATwo previous efforts to pass a state-funded home repair program were casualties of the budget process.
March 4, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesNursing parents would gain right to pump in public under proposal to expand breastfeeding lawby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAA caucus in the Pennsylvania House focused on maternal health has introduced bills that would protect the right to public pumping and mandate a state agency study access to care.
March 4, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesCalls for cyber charter reform intensify after audit found ballooning revenue, surplusesby Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAThe review was led by Republican Auditor General Tim DeFoor, who identified “uncommon” spending on gift cards and real estate.
Feb. 28, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesPublic will no longer be in the dark about Shapiro flights on taxpayer-funded State Police planesby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAUnlike a PennDOT-operated plane, State Police aircraft don’t have to publish public logs of who they carry or the cost.
Feb. 26, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesClergy abuse survivor battles time and deadlocked Pa. lawmakers as he seeks justiceby Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAA priest assaulted him as a child. Over 60 years later, he’s still waiting for justice, and only the Pennsylvania legislature can help.
Feb. 20, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesIs Josh Shapiro keeping campaign promises? Test your politics knowledge with this quiz.by Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAPennsylvania’s split legislature makes it tricky for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to pass his priorities. Here’s a look at his progress.
Feb. 11, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesChild care workers could get a raise under Shapiro plan to address shortageby Sarah Boden for Spotlight PABusinesses and advocates for families say the Democrat’s $55 million proposal would make child care in Pennsylvania more available and keep parents in the workforce.
Feb. 7, 2025Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAEviction filings shouldn't doom Pa. residents to never get another rental, Shapiro saysby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAEviction filings can follow renters for decades and make it harder to find housing, even if a judge never upheld them. Shapiro wants to see lawmakers seal those records.
Feb. 5, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesLack of Senate support could again sink Shapiro’s call for Pa. to legalize weedby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAA legalization bill needs to win majority support from an 11-person state Senate committee. Just 3 members are publicly on board.
Feb. 4, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesShapiro renews calls for legal weed, regulated skill games in budget that would send $526M to poorest schoolsby Stephen Caruso, Kate Huangpu, and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAThe governor’s latest budget pitch would send an additional $290 million to the state’s public transit agencies, invest more in a new student-teacher stipend, and more.
Feb. 4, 2025Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PA13 states mandate paid family leave. A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants Pa. to be next.by Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAGetting paid time off to care for a kid or recover from illness depends on where one lives and works in Pennsylvania. Lawmakers want to change that.
Feb. 3, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesLegal weed, more money for Pa.’s poorest schools will likely be in Shapiro’s budget pitchby Stephen Caruso, Kate Huangpu, and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAGov. Josh Shapiro is expected to reuse ideas from his first two years in office that have yet to win enough support in the legislature.
Jan. 31, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesFiery resignation by Pa.’s consumer advocate breeds fear office will lose independenceby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAPatrick Cicero’s resignation echoes the early years of the consumer advocate’s office, in which its first leader clashed with utilities and warned the office must remain independent.
Jan. 28, 2025Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAWill a tied state House halt Harrisburg again? Pa. Democrats won’t say.by Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAState House Democrats have a vacancy after a member’s death, and leaders won’t say whether they’ll stop floor votes while they wait to restore their numerical majority.
Jan. 17, 2025Sarah Anne Hughes / Spotlight PANegotiations to tax skill games fell apart last year. GOP leaders are restarting the debate.by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PALawmakers will again wade into a tricky debate over taxing skill games this session. The slot-like machines are currently unregulated.
Jan. 15, 2025Jared Wickerham / For Spotlight PAExpanded voter ID, mail ballot changes on the table as Pa. lawmakers begin new sessionby Carter Walker of VotebeatOne top lawmaker hopes Donald Trump’s election will open up space for more fruitful legislative talks during the two-year session.
Jan. 14, 2025Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PAThe poorest schools in Pa. got an extra $500M last year. Is more money on the way?by Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAThe Pennsylvania legislature gave the state’s poorest schools an extra $500 million last year to close the “adequacy gap.” Now they have to decide what’s next.
Jan. 8, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesGovernor’s office forced to reveal why it spent $368K on private law firmsby Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PAEx-Gov. Tom Wolf’s office and top lawyers for Gov. Josh Shapiro have furiously fought to keep this information secret.
Jan. 7, 2025Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PALawmakers tease their plans to address high child care costs, low pre-K attendance in Pa.by Sarah Boden for Spotlight PALegislative memos addressing paid leave, pre-K access, and child care costs preview how Pennsylvania lawmakers plan to approach caregiving issues in 2025.
Jan. 7, 2025Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PADemocrats get their choice of House speaker as a new Pa. legislative session startsby Stephen Caruso and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAEvery legislative session starts with Pennsylvania lawmakers passing rules to govern the movement of bills and more. Here’s what happened.
Jan. 3, 2025Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PASpecial elections cost Pa. at least $1M last legislative sessionby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAJust two of the 10 previous sessions — a span of 20 years — saw more special elections than this one.
Dec. 30, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PATroubled transplants, elder abuse, and Secret Service flaws: Spotlight PA’s best investigations of 2024by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PAIn 2024, Spotlight PA reporters uncovered slow elder abuse investigations, warnings about troubled transplant programs, and more.
Dec. 26, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PALawmakers passed fewer laws than in other recent sessions, but leaders say quality is better than quantityby Stephen Caruso and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PADespite partisan challenges, lawmakers managed to pass some notable bills in 2023 and 2024 including a major education boost.
Dec. 20, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAAre lobbyist emails to lawmakers public records? A Pa. court will decide.by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PASpotlight PA sued after the Pennsylvania Senate refused to turn over emails between lawmakers and lobbyists.
Dec. 19, 2024Kent M. Wilhelm / For Spotlight PAState abandons proposal to make it easier for problem bettors to return to Pa. casinosby Abigail Hakas of Next Generation NewsroomThe proposed change would have automatically lifted self-imposed bans on entering casinos, rather than requiring people to ask to return.
Dec. 17, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesCampaign funds, secretive nonprofit pay for Josh Shapiro's sports ticketsby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAThe Democratic governor routinely accepts tickets from donors and Team PA, a little-known nonprofit. It may violate his own gift ban.
Dec. 16, 2024Courtesy of Mark BraultPersistent problems with a Pa. grant for beer promotion led to headaches, layoffs for awardeesby Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PAThe grant program promised money to people promoting Pennsylvania’s beer industry. But awardees were routinely denied their full grants, and now the state is quietly making changes.
Dec. 3, 2024Courtesy U.S. Department of Energy via FlickrUtility law will lapse after Pa. legislature deadlocks on expanding consumer protectionsby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAThe law was designed to make it easier for utility companies to reclaim unpaid bills while increasing consumer protections. Advocates say it’s not strong enough.