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Philadelphia’s citywide plastic bag ban will go into effect next month, but it will not be fully enforced and implemented until April 2022.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh move ahead with plastic bag bans as Pennsylvania’s preemption nears its end

by Lindsay Weber for Spotlight PA

Unlike in years past, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled legislature headed into this June’s budget season with a financial windfall.

Pa.’s $40 billion budget includes more money for poorest school districts, saves bulk of federal relief funding

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

Democrats call any new ID restrictions “voter suppression,” while Republicans say it makes elections more secure. The reality is more complicated.

As Pa. House advances doomed election overhaul, Senate GOP charts different course to voter ID, other changes

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

The move diminished anti-gerrymandering advocates’ hopes of preventing Pennsylvania’s most powerful lawmakers from drawing maps that unfairly benefit one political party.

Panel agrees to put guardrails on how Pa. lawmakers draw congressional maps, but not their own

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

“I can’t believe that,” Rep. Chris Sainato said in a recent interview when told of his expenses. “I don’t know where you are getting $1.8 million.”

How one Pennsylvania lawmaker billed taxpayers $1.8 million in expenses

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted, Sam Janesch, and Mike Wereschagin of The Caucus

Despite two audits and assurances from every level of government that the election was free of widespread fraud, Sen. David Argall (R., Schuylkill) told Spotlight PA he does not see the “damage in doing it one more time to try to answer the concerns that people have.”

Key Pennsylvania state senator backs Arizona-style election audit

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA and Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

Some members of the board unsuccessfuly tried to oust Glen Grell, the former Republican state legislator who leads the PSERS fund, and investment chief James H. Grossman Jr. (pictured here), a fund veteran who is the highest-paid employee in state government.

Money, power, scandal: The PSERS saga, explained

by Colin Deppen of Spotlight PA

“The fact that we haven’t gotten this bill done is what so frustrates people about politics,” Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia), one of three openly LGBTQ people serving in the legislature, said Tuesday on the steps of the Capitol.

Wolf, Pa. Democrats again push for passage of LGBTQ discrimination protections

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA and Colin Deppen of Spotlight PA

Gov. Tom Wolf has made clear he opposes the voter ID requirements and would almost certainly veto the bill in its current form.

GOP’s major election overhaul advances in Pa. House as Democrats call it a ‘farce’

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA and Jonathan Lai of The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Whenever an anti-choice bill comes to my desk, I will veto it,” Gov. Tom Wolf said on Thursday.

Wolf again vows to veto any bills that limit abortion access in Pa.

by Shaniece Holmes Brown for Spotlight PA

The legislation is sure to draw intense scrutiny and will likely face steep obstacles as Republican leaders, who control both chambers of the state legislature, try to keep their party unified while also winning the approval of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

Pa. GOP proposes major election overhaul, including stricter voter ID and in-person early voting

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA and Jonathan Lai of The Philadelphia Inquirer

Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, cannot veto the measure.

Legislature votes to immediately end Pa.’s coronavirus disaster declaration while keeping waivers in place

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA

Activists from MarchOnHarrisburg have been pushing for a gift ban for decades.

Activists target top Republican in Pa. Senate as they push for gift ban

by Shaniece Holmes Brown for Spotlight PA

The proposed ouster comes after federal prosecutors and the FBI launched an investigation in the spring into the $64 billion fund — the Public School Employees’ Retirement System — which sends $6 billion annually to retirees.

In a revolt, dissidents on PSERS board lobby colleagues to fire the fund’s leaders and set a new investment strategy

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Craig R. McCoy and Joseph N. DiStefano of The Philadelphia Inquirer

Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said he believed the decades-old state education funding formula is inadequate and has historically shortchanged schools in both urban and rural districts hanging on by a financial thread.

Wolf sticks by $1 billion plan to close Pa.’s education gap, minus his proposed tax increase

by Shaniece Holmes Brown for Spotlight PA

Members of the Poor People's Campaign in Pennsylvania gathered on the steps of the Capitol to call for a "just and moral budget."

With $10,000,000,000 to spend, advocates press Wolf, Pa. lawmakers to prioritize poor people

by Shaniece Holmes Brown for Spotlight PA

About $20 million went into lawmakers’ pockets over four years in the form of reimbursements for meals, mileage subsidies, per diems, and other expenses.

Bill would force Pa. to post online how lawmakers spend millions in tax dollars each year

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted, Sam Janesch, and Mike Wereschagin of The Caucus

The General Assembly spent $203 million from 2017 through 2020 just to feed, house, transport, and provide rental offices and other perks for lawmakers and their staffs.

Five takeaways from a year-long investigation on lawmaker spending

by Colin Deppen of Spotlight PA

A contingent of right-wing Republicans says the grants were fundamentally unfair because Democratic-leaning counties got more money. Election directors in those areas used those funds to offer voters additional ways to cast a ballot, such as by opening satellite offices and making drop boxes available.

Mark Zuckerberg helped some Pa. counties survive the 2020 election. Right-wing lawmakers say that was unfair.

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

The inspector general’s investigation was ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf after state election officials admitted in February that they had failed to advertise the ballot question as required by law.
.

‘Internal systemic failures’ led to Wolf administration blunder that derailed child sex abuse amendment

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

Gov. Tom Wolf said some of the provisions targeted by GOP lawmakers are outside the scope of the disaster declaration. That includes the power to close businesses and to set maximum occupancy limits.

Newly empowered, Pa. GOP lawmakers move to end parts of Wolf’s coronavirus disaster order

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA

Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R., Centre) reported receiving just over $8,500 to attend conferences.

Lawmakers report receiving fewer gifts during pandemic as push for ban continues

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

Issues with mail ballots plagued a handful of Pennsylvania counties during the 2021 primary.

Experts say Pa.’s 2021 primary was typical, but GOP lawmakers are seizing on issues

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

The Wolf administration has forcefully pushed back on the claim that it can only mandate business closures when a disaster declaration is in place, arguing that power resides with the state’s health secretary.

Voters back curtailing Wolf’s emergency powers in win for GOP lawmakers

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA

More than a decade after some members first started posting their own expenses online, just 18 lawmakers in the 203-member House and 11 in the 50-member Senate post some level of financial information today.

Some Pa. lawmakers tout expense transparency. Their websites tell a different story.

by Sam Janesch of The Caucus

The Caucus and Spotlight PA began filing Right-to-Know Law requests in November 2019 in an attempt to answer a simple question: How does one of the largest and most expensive full-time legislatures in the country spend the taxpayer money it allots itself?

Inside the year-long fight to figure out how the Pa. legislature spends taxpayer money on itself

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Mike Wereschagin, Brad Bumsted, and Sam Janesch Of The Caucus

About $20 million went into Pennsylvania lawmakers’ pockets over four years in the form of reimbursements for meals, mileage subsidies, per diems, and other expenses.

Taxpayers foot huge bill to run Pa.’s full-time legislature, but are blocked from many details

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Mike Wereschagin, Brad Bumsted, and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

All voters, regardless of affiliation, will be asked to weigh in on four ballot questions, including two proposed constitutional amendments that could significantly shape Pennsylvania’s future response to disasters like the coronavirus pandemic.

Independents can vote on ballot questions, and more things to know about the May 18 primary

by Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA

In the coming weeks, House Speaker Bryan Cutler and Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (pictured) plan to unveil a lobbying reform package.

One ritzy fundraiser shows how tough selling lobbying reform in Pa. will be

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

Amanda Holt, a graphic artist and piano teacher from Allentown, drew her own political maps after noticing oddities in the ones drawn by lawmakers.

Are Pa.’s state House and Senate maps gerrymandered? Depends on how you measure them.

by Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA

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