July 18, 2024Bob Bushell / U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionThis year’s budget overturns local bans on rodeos. No Pa. lawmaker will take credit.by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAThe provision was quietly included in a budget-enabling code bill and appears to target Pittsburgh.
July 16, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesFree period products coming to some Pa. schools thanks to $3M budget commitmentby Sarah Nicell for Spotlight PAGov. Josh Shapiro signed off on a $3 million grant program to provide free period products to Pennsylvania schools. Many key details still need to be worked out.
July 15, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PALegal marijuana, big tax cuts, and minimum wage: This year’s budget losersby Stephen Caruso, Kate Huangpu, and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAMajor goals for both Democrats and Republicans fell by the wayside in Pennsylvania’s new $47.6 billion budget.
July 11, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesCompromises on education spending, tax cuts, and transit headline Pa.’s $47.6B budgetby Stephen Caruso and Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAPennsylvania’s new budget includes less transit funding than Democrats wanted, tax cuts, permitting reform, and changes to the higher education system.
July 11, 2024Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PABudget sends $500M more to Pa.’s poorest schools, falling short of what some say is neededby Stephen Caruso and Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAPennsylvania lawmakers approved a budget that boosts education funding by more than $1 billion, but doesn’t invest what advocates say is needed to help poor schools.
July 8, 2024Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PAA disagreement about measuring student poverty is delaying the Pa. budgetby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PALawmakers are inching toward a late budget deal, but partisan disagreements remain over how to route money to poor school districts.
July 4, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PATime is running out to get sexual abuse amendment on Pa.’s November ballotby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAMistakes and political fights have long delayed an amendment to give sexual abuse survivors a chance to sue the perpetrators. Now, the effort might fail again.
July 1, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAPa. missed its budget deadline. What’s next?by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Trebor Maitin for Spotlight PALawmakers missed their June 30 deadline to wrap up the Pa. budget. But they say talks are progressing well on education, infrastructure, and other priorities.
July 1, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAMore funding could be coming to a Pa. affordable housing programby Trebor Maitin for Spotlight PANew money for an affordable housing program was one of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s asks in this year’s budget. Success seems to be in reach.
June 27, 2024Sarah Anne Hughes / Spotlight PAGov. Shapiro wanted to regulate skill games in this year's budget, but talks aren’t going wellby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAAn effort to tax a legally iffy gaming sector appears to be in jeopardy amid Pa. budget talks. Loss of the funding stream could affect other parts of negotiations.
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.
