Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a shortcut of sorts to expand health care access: let psychologists, not just psychiatrists, prescribe medication.
A handful of states and the federal government already do so, but critics worry about a lack of proper training and other innovations of the past that have not panned out.
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Rural America has 20 percent of the country’s population and 46 percent 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 (GHSA) suggests broader cooperation to pool local resources, more public outreach, and better road design to curb collisions.
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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.
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Seniors across Pennsylvania can officially look forward to 2024.
That’s because Gov. Josh Shapiro will finally sign a $134 million expansion of the state’s property tax and rent rebate program for low-income seniors and disabled residents that will go into effect in the new year.
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A jury announced Wednesday that they believed Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people in a targeted attack against Pittsburgh Jews in 2018, should receive the death penalty, according to multiple reports.
A jury determined in July that Bowers was eligible for capital punishment despite his defense team arguing that he suffered from mental disorders that prevented him from understanding the weight of his actions. The jury deliberated for over ten hours during the course of two days before issuing its verdict that Bowers should be put to death for deliberately going after Jewish worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue, according to various reports.
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Tracking how Pennsylvania legislators spend money in office can be a hassle, requiring a public records request — and patience.
That process, however, could soon change if lawmakers post expense reports online in one place.
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The growth of solar generation in Pennsylvania over the last decade owes largely to farmers willing to share their land, a fact that leaves others worried about neighboring property values and future sustainability.
As such, Sen. Doug Mastriano – former gubernatorial candidate and right-wing firebrand who represents a district that spans Franklin and Adams counties – recently introduced a bill limiting the use of farmland for solar development in Pennsylvania. The legislation would prohibit development on prime farming land considered class one or class two by the USDA.
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On the 28th day overdue, a key budget negotiator released a hopeful, albeit stern, message indicating a budget deal may come together in August after all.
Senate President Kim Ward, R-Greensburg, said Friday that Republican leaders in the chamber are “actively negotiating” with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and “things are moving forward.”
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Employees at a Pittsburgh-area Starbucks say they want to de-unionize amid growing workplace tension.
The request comes just one year after the Penn Center East location became one of 25 in Pennsylvania to organize under Starbucks Workers United, which is affiliated with the SEIU.
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State and federal officials continue to monitor the impact of the Norfolk Southern train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, but independent scientists worry that indoor air quality has been ignored.
The lack of transparency, too, has made it harder to build and maintain public trust.
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A group of parents says State College Area School District bars their children from joining extracurricular activities simply because they attend faith-based schools.
The families, members of the Religious Rights Foundation, recently filed a lawsuit against the district for prohibiting their students from participating in sports, clubs, and college-level classes, based on religious discrimination.
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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.
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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 data.
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Pennsylvania’s treasury holds about $4.5 billion in unclaimed property for residents, businesses and local governments.
Recent efforts, however, have seen more of that get returned as the treasurer announced $274 million was returned in the last fiscal year – a single-year record.
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Following on the heels of an expected 6% increase in funding from the General Assembly, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education voted to freeze tuition for the fifth year in a row.
The 6% represents a $33 million increase over last year, though it’s a 2% overall increase because the General Assembly only provides about 30% of the system’s total revenues, Chancellor Dan Greenstein said.
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Rural Pennsylvania has seen its population drop, with residents moving to suburbs, cities, and out-of-state.
The demand for rural life, however, isn’t always shrinking.
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The relatively high cost of Pittsburgh’s bus and light-rail operations means that, in the near future, Allegheny County officials must choose between raising taxes to fund it or find a way to cut costs.
So argues the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy’s Research Director Eric Montarti and research assistant Scott T. Cross in a policy brief advocating for “hard decisions” to be made instead of raising county taxes and fees.
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Pennsylvania officials announced an expansion of its directory that helps residents find addiction services near them, part of a multi-year effort to simplify the process of finding licensed providers for drug and alcohol problems.
Information for about 600 licensed treatment facilities in the state have now been submitted for Pennsylvania’s Treatment Atlas, centralizing information for 81% of all licensed centers statewide. The Atlas has been a work in progress since 2021 and 7,000 assessments have been filed through it, DDAP noted.
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Recently slashed fees on the state’s educational savings program could save taxpayers more than half a million over the next year.
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity said the 1.25 basis point reduction will impact 286,000 accounts enrolled in the state’s 529 Investment Plan, netting $579,000 in savings.
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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.
“Productivity declines and limits on natural gas takeaway capacity resulted in a 0.4 (billion cubic feet per day) decrease in Pennsylvania’s total natural gas production in 2022,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. “Until last year, output had increased every year since 2013 on the back of drilling efficiency gains.”
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Nearly 400 Pennsylvania State University professors have signed a letter that defends antiracism teaching and administrative practices targeted in a lawsuit objecting to giving black students inflated grades.
The four-paragraph “Letter in Support of Antiracist Faculty at Penn State” denigrates a recent lawsuit filed against the university by Zack De Piero, who taught English at the school’s Abington campus and has since filed a lawsuit that alleges he was discriminated against because of his race. He is white.
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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.
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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 from Democratic leadership in the House.
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New survey results suggest many residents don’t know much about elected leaders in Pennsylvania.
Aside from Gov. Josh Shapiro, most respondents said they either “never heard of” or were “unsure” about the performance of certain administration officials and legislative leaders — including Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Democratic House Speaker Joanna McClinton, and Republican Senate President Kim Ward.
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Gov. Josh Shapiro touted federal money for broadband expansion in western Pennsylvania on Friday, arguing for bipartisanship and efficient governance.
“I wanted to be here today because Beaver County’s got its act together,” Shapiro said. “Folks want people in government — regardless of what party they’re in — to find ways to work together, to come together and actually solve problems, and to get stuff done.”
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A state-backed hydroelectric plant is on track to come to the former steel town of Braddock, but permitting delays have slowed the project and driven up costs.
The Thursday meeting of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, an independent public financing entity that funds “clean, advanced energy projects,” featured upbeat officials on the success of their funded projects, but also noted the slow pace of bureaucracy can slow down a project.
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Pennsylvania’s state council to control healthcare costs is staring down a $1 million deficit within its own budget.
The most significant costs above funding came from contracted services and salaries and benefits for council staff. The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council is an independent agency that aims to limit cost increases through competition in the health care market.
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Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro says he plans on dropping his push for private school vouchers from the state budget amid opposition from teachers unions and members of his own party.
The budget passed the state House and Senate on Wednesday after discussions had been deadlocked on the $100 million voucher program, local outlet Spotlight PA reported.
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A new survey suggests the price residents pay to live in Pennsylvania tempts younger generations to move.
Results from the Commonwealth Foundation poll conducted last month show more than half of respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 have considered moving to another state – or know someone who wants to do the same.
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Teacher compensation across Pennsylvania grew over the past decade, despite claims from officials that low salaries and high stress scare educators from the state in droves.
The data, gleaned from a recent report from the National Education Association – one of the country’s largest labor unions – found that teachers in Pennsylvania earned an average of $73,072 during the 2021-22 school year – the 11th highest rate in the nation.
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A new survey suggests the price residents pay to live in Pennsylvania tempts younger generations to move.
Results from the Commonwealth Foundation poll conducted last month show more than half of respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 have considered moving to another state – or know someone who wants to do the same.
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Pennsylvania State University employees racially discriminated against a white professor who resigned in opposition to race-based grading and diversity trainings that argued white people are racist, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
Zack De Piero, who taught English at the school’s Abingdon campus, left in 2022 after working there for four years, according to the suit, which describes his departure as a “constructive termination,” arguing the school more or less forced him to resign.
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Scarlett Johnson says she has never seen anything like it.
The parental rights activist has gotten used to nasty language and overheated rhetoric from the left. But she said the hatred she experienced last week in the City of Brotherly Love was “insane.”
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Pennsylvania is set to receive almost $42 million in federal funds to offset rising prices of food for school meals.
States will receive about $1.3 billion for school meals overall, and another $1 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for food banks and community kitchens.
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The second week of the disbarment trial of Trump attorney and constitutional scholar John Eastman concluded Friday, with testimony from the State Bar of California’s (SBC) expert witnesses Justin Grimmer and Jonathan Brater, director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections (MBE). Grimmer is a political science professor at Stanford.
Much of SBC attorney Duncan Carling’s questions to Grimmer consisted of asking him to debunk claims of election fraud, prompting First Amendment attorney Mark Fitzgibbons to tweet, “Am I wrong, but isn’t this bizarre CA Bar trial of Trump lawyer Dr John Eastman hearing more evidence than all the pre-Jan 6 election litigation challenges combined?” Analyzing election fraud claims did not come up in the 2020 election cases, since the judges dismissed them on technicalities without getting to the merits.
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A Republican-backed school choice program stalled Thursday after House Democrats adjourned without voting on it.
Later, in a statement provided to The Center Square, House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Norristown, said he won’t entertain the proposal as part of budget negotiations.
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Cosmetologists could soon stand on equal footing with barber shops across the state.
A law that allows barber shops to rent space to freelancers, but prohibits salons from doing the same, has drawn attention from state legislators – and they want to see it changed.
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A boom year from natural gas impact fees in 2022 could be followed by a dramatic drop in payments, according to a recent analysis.
The data suggests that, rather than setting a new floor and bringing in steady funding in the future, recent record-setting payments are a blip.
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Just four days remain until June 30, Pennsylvania’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget deadline and much still divides Republicans who control the state Senate from Governor Josh Shapiro and his fellow Democrats who control the House of Representatives.
The school-choice debate is among the most concerning facets of budget negotiations so far for the GOP. Shapiro indicated last year that he wanted the commonwealth to create “lifeline scholarships,” i.e. a private-school choice program for economically disadvantaged students in poorly performing schools. Republicans hoped they could coalesce with him around the policy’s enactment.
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Pennsylvania’s Senate State Government Committee on Monday recommended confirming secretary of the commonwealth nominee Al Schmidt.
The panel voted 10-1 to back the Republican acting secretary and former Philadelphia city commissioner. In a subsequent, off-the-floor meeting, the committee approved a bill to facilitate removal of Pennsylvania from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a controversial multi-state data-sharing program supporters say helps states maintain accurate voter rolls. The bill would permit the state to use the Social Security death database and change-of-address records to identify voter-registry errors.
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A lawmaker is urging his colleagues to back a bill he is sponsoring to ensure Pennsylvania parents get notified when sexually explicit content is distributed in their children’s K-12 schools.
State Representative Russ Diamond (R-Jonestown) announced he will introduce a companion bill to a Senate measure authored by Senator Ryan Aument (R-Lititz). The legislation would mandate that schools note sexually explicit texts and other media assigned or displayed as part of students’ coursework. The bill would further instruct schools to tell parents when a book their child accesses from their school library features sexually frank content.
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by Lauren Jessop To be, or not to be, a sanctuary state – that is the question Pennsylvania lawmakers will attempt to answer as they seek support for two diametrically opposed House bills. A Democrat-sponsored version would limit local police assistance with immigration enforcement. A Republican-sponsored bill, in contrast, wants to prevent local governments from designating themselves as “sanctuary.” The common thread between the two is safer communities; one side claims sanctuary policies make them safer, and the other says they threaten the safety of legal citizens. Rep. Jose Giral, D-Philadelphia, is reintroducing legislation from a previous session that would prohibit police from spending resources on immigration enforcement and state postsecondary educational institutions from “enacting or enforcing discriminatory immigration enforcement policies.” In a memo, Giral (pictured above, left) said, “forcing local police agencies to devote resources to immigration enforcement simultaneously makes it harder for them to investigate crimes and wastes taxpayer money.” Giral’s office did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment. Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Connellsville, wants to prevent local governments from enacting sanctuary polices. Warner (pictured above, right) told The Center Square he believes encouraging illegal immigration is dangerous, irresponsible, and insulting to those who entered the country legally. “It…
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Pennsylvania remains one of the few states without open primary voting, but some lawmakers say the potential change isn’t as straightforward as it seems.
Some legislators want to reform the status quo, but others worry that the complexity of the state’s electoral code is too convoluted for the switch to be a wise choice.
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Republicans in Pennsylvania’s Freedom Caucus have at least temporarily blocked a bill funneling taxpayer dollars to Penn State University following news that the university hospital is prescribing puberty blockers to children.
House Bill 1456 failed to reach the needed two-thirds majority threshold Thursday that it required to pass the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
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A Pennsylvania House of Representatives panel on Thursday passed bills to favor apprenticeship-trained labor and pay prevailing wages in state contracting in a process Republicans blasted as illegitimate.
The House Labor and Industry Committee reported both bills to the full chamber, with all 12 Democrats supportive and all nine Republicans opposed.
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Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission announced this week that the commonwealth and its localities will collect nearly $279 million from natural gas extraction impact fees this year.
The revenues, applying to drilling activity throughout 2022, bring the total fees collected for gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale sedimentary rock formation to $2.5 billion since 2012, the year lawmakers imposed the tax on fossil-fuel producers. This year’s allocations will be the largest yearly amount the government amassed through the levy, representing a 19 percent increase over the prior year’s take.
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Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives this week passed legislation raising the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026 and permanently indexing it to inflation going forward.
Currently, the Keystone State mandates $7.25 in minimum hourly pay for most workers. If the bill passes the state Senate it will receive the supportive Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s signature and become law. The measure, sponsored by Representative Jason Dawkins (D-Philadelphia) will move the low-end wage to $11 per hour next January and $13 per hour the following January before bringing it to $15 the year after that.
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As Philadelphia medical malpractice cases skyrocket, a pro-tort-reform nonprofit is asking a Pennsylvania Supreme Court committee to review new “forum shopping” rules.
The Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform (PCCJR) sent its second such request in two months to the court’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee Chair Kathleen Bruder. According to PCCJR, new data show that the failure to keep medical malpractice cases in their proper venues is worsening lawsuit abuse that financially batters insurers, threatens medical professionals, and harms consumers.
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Former University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann earned $22.76 million in 2021, most of which was due to a contractual accrued deferred compensation payout, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“Gutmann’s total figure for 2021, reported on the 990 tax form, includes her annual compensation of a base salary of $1.56 million and a bonus of $1 million and the $20.2 million deferred compensation and supplemental retirement funds, which also includes investment gains the money made over 17 years,” the Inquirer reported June 17.
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State representative Dallas Kephart (R-PA-Clearfield) wants to reduce Pennsylvania’s corporate net income tax (CNIT) to four percent by 2025.
Last year, lawmakers budgeted a gradual decrease in the CNIT from 9.99 percent to 4.99 percent over the coming decade. Before the change, the Keystone State charged corporations the highest state business tax in the U.S., behind New Jersey’s 11.5 percent rate. Now at 8.99 percent, Pennsylvania’s levy is 8.99 percent — the fifth highest. Assuming other states’ rates stay constant, Pennsylvania’s CNIT will end up roughly in the middle in terms of corporate taxes in 2031.
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