Workers for two for-profit companies fear the bulk of the money won’t be used to alleviate longer working hours, expanded job responsibilities, and even food rationing for residents.
Spotlight PA
Pa.’s unreliable lobbyist disclosure website is getting a user-friendly upgrade
More than 15 line items received a more than 100% boost in this year’s budget, including an upgrade to a website for lobbyists that has reportedly resulted in inaccurate disciplinary action.
The business of volunteer fire companies has become harder to sustain. Can collaboration help?
Five volunteer fire companies in Centre County are participating in a state study to determine how better collaboration among them might alleviate some cost and staffing challenges.
New report on racial bias in Pa. State Police traffic stops delayed by data problems, officials say
State Police resumed collecting traffic stop data in 2021 after a Spotlight PA investigation found the department stopped tracking the information a decade ago.
Your license plate frame is enough for police in Pa. to pull you over, court rules
The judges found the state’s vehicle code prohibits any part of the plate from being covered, including the visitpa.com website of the state’s tourism office.
Commonwealth Court orders Pa.’s health department to release information on medical marijuana program
For more than a year, the Department of Health has fought to block Spotlight PA’s request for information. Judges rejected the agency’s arguments calling one claim “undeveloped.”
Pa. lawmakers are set to get huge raises next year. They can return them, but almost nobody does.
Inflation is pushing the Pa. legislature’s annual cost-of-living adjustments even higher, with base salaries expected to exceed $100,000 in 2023.
Pa. lawmakers weigh bill that would allow independents to vote on primary candidates
Pennsylvania has closed primary elections, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote for candidates from those parties and choose who will advance to the general.
Critics call water quality bill moving through Pa. legislature a back door to privatization
The bill requires some public water systems to create an asset management plan, a mandate that municipal leaders and environmental groups called a solution in search of a problem.
Pa. Supreme Court upholds no-excuse mail voting ahead of midterms
A lower appellate court earlier this year sided with Republican lawmakers, saying that permitting no-excuse mail voting required amending the state constitution.
Wolf sues GOP-led legislature to block abortion, voter ID questions from reaching Pa. ballot box
The Democratic governor is claiming legislative Republicans unconstitutionally lumped together five pieces of their “failed” agenda into a package of proposed amendments.
Wolf quietly steers $40 million to Pitt, Pa.’s other state-related universities
The move follows opponents of abortion access in the state House unsuccessfully attempting to block funding for the schools over Pitt’s research using fetal tissue.
Pa.’s unemployment trust fund is broke. The Wolf admin says a long-term fix will save taxpayers millions.
The state’s new budget pays off $42 million in debt, but backers say a bigger policy change is needed to prepare the system for future downturns.
A beginner’s guide to requesting public records on Pa. law enforcement
Interviews with experts and an analysis of data from the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records offer tips for successfully using the state’s Right-to-Know Law.
You’re invited! A free virtual panel on the new Pa. budget and what it prioritizes
Join Spotlight PA July 26 for a free breakdown of Pa.’s multibillion-dollar budget and how it will impact you.