Shapiro’s Plan to Double Electric Bills

Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation’s weekly news roundup of policy issues debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.

Have you seen our recent social media videos? Follow us on Instagram for the latest updates from our team.
 

Shapiro’s Energy Proposals Would Harm Pennsylvania, New Study Asserts

Energy is Pennsylvania’s competitive advantage. However, two proposed climate-related programs will harm the Keystone State economically and fail to provide any meaningful environmental benefits, according to a new study published by the Commonwealth Foundation.

Gov. Josh Shapiro developed two programs as part of his state-level equivalent of the Green New Deal: the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act (PACER) and the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS). PACER is a cap-and-trade program that would impose a “de facto carbon tax.” Meanwhile, PRESS would expand the commonwealth’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, increasing the amount of unreliable energy onto the grid.

Republicans are Keeping Their School Choice Promise

Republicans in Washington are on the verge of keeping a historic promise to America’s families. In the “one big, beautiful bill”  that the House of Representatives just passed, Republicans included an unprecedented school choice program based on a successful initiative in my home state of Pennsylvania. This transformative measure would help children nationwide get the best education for them.

Republicans have made school choice a mainstay of their platform for years, and last year, President Donald Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania that he would support “universal school choice.” While that’s a lofty goal, the Educational Choice for Children Act is a bold step in that direction. The proposal, which Republicans included in the bill they just introduced, would create a tax-credit scholarship that any American student could use to attend a better school.

Hidden Costs in Pennsylvania’s Pharmacy Reform Could Hurt Patients

PennLive’s editorial encouraging state lawmakers to expand on Act 77 rightly lauds the expanded role of pharmacists to provide safe and convenient care for Medicaid patients.

Lawmakers should build on these scope of practice expansions to give all patients convenient access to more vaccinations and tests for common illnesses like strep throat. However, the editorial ignored the downside of the added regulations on health care affordability programs or how further regulations could limit the ability of employers to choose what kind of benefits work best for their employees.

Federal Lawmakers Flirt with Universal School Choice

During a rally in Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump promised to support universal school choice. And with the possible passage of the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), he might make good on that promise.

Originally, the ECCA proposed establishing $10 billion in tax-credit scholarships nationwide. Federal lawmakers have also folded a $5 billion version of ECCA into the recently passed budget reconciliation package, better known as Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Universal School Choice Attracts More Educational Alternatives

If you build it, they will come.

“It” is an educational framework that empowers students and families to choose the best school for their needs. “They” are the private schools that provide these students and families with alternatives to their local district schools. That’s the primary thesis of a new report by EdChoice, a nonprofit organization specializing in school-choice policy reforms.

Stay tuned for next week’s 
Common Sense Weekly.