Media

State Budget

News Release: State House Promotes Pathway to Independence in Welfare Code

• July 12, 2017

House lawmakers yesterday passed significant welfare reforms to reinforce the safety net for those most in need while helping more Pennsylvanians escape the cycle of poverty and move from dependency…

Press Release

Health Care

Four Game Changing Welfare Reforms

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 11, 2017

The 2017-18 spending plan is now law, but officials still must find a way to pay for it. The latest version of the human services code bill includes a host…

Media

Overspending, Not Undertaxing, Created PA Budget Deficit

• Nathan Benefield
• July 11, 2017

Why does Pennsylvania have a state budget deficit? Simple: Overspending. If the state had grown spending by the rate of inflation and population growth over the last three years, the…

Media

Regulation

The Unrelenting Demand for Tax Increases Illustrates Lessons Unlearned

• July 10, 2017

For Gov. Wolf, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Despite the harm caused by last year’s tax increases, Gov. Wolf appears to be holding out—yet…

Media

News Release: Don’t Hike Taxes—Examine Priorities in $3 Billion Off-Budget Spending

• July 7, 2017

State lawmakers scrambling for revenue sources to balance their $32 billion spending plan are faced with a choice: higher taxes or real reform. The decision should be easy. Pennsylvanians…

Press Release

Public Union Democracy

Ghost Teachers Exposed by NBC Philadelphia

• Gina Diorio
• July 6, 2017

The ghost teaching phenomenon is continuing to garner major media coverage—this time, a multi-part NBC10 Philadelphia investigation. Investigative reporter Mitch Blacher gets to the bottom of union work on school…

Media

Regulation

Liquor Privatization’s Dual Purpose

• July 6, 2017

State lawmakers have yet to agree on a plan to balance last year’s budget (2016-17) or this year’s budget (2017-18), despite authorizing large spending increases both years. In…

Media

Health Care

Meaningful Welfare Reform Included in State Budget

• Elizabeth Stelle
• July 6, 2017

State lawmakers are scrambling to create a revenue plan that can balance the $32 billion dollar spending plan passed by the legislature last week. While talks of tax hikes, borrowing…

Media

Regulation

News Release: End Horse Racing’s $2.7 Billion Taxpayer-Funded Windfall

• July 6, 2017

State government spends $800 million on taxpayer-funding giveaways to politically connected businesses each year. As lawmakers and Gov. Wolf debate ways to pay for the $32 billion spending plan passed…

Press Release

State Budget

Lawmakers’ Choices: Higher Taxes or Real Reform

• Nathan Benefield
• July 5, 2017

Half the state budget is done: the spending list. The Pennsylvania House and Senate passed a general appropriations bill on Friday. But the other half—how to pay for it—remains. The…

Media

Criminal Justice Reform

How to Revamp Pa.’s Criminal Justice System

• July 3, 2017

Pennsylvania can reduce its prison population by more than 1,000 people while saving approximately $108 million over five years, according to a Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) Working Group Report.

Media

News Release: Lawmakers Must Demand Reforms, Reject Tax Hikes to Fix Unbalanced Budget

• June 30, 2017

On the last day of the state’s fiscal year, Senate leaders passed a $32 billion budget that boosts state spending by $500 million with no way to pay for it.

Press Release

Public Union Democracy

Balancing Pennsylvania’s Budget: Tax or Reform?

• Jessica Barnett
• June 30, 2017

Government unions are rallying in Harrisburg, demanding more money from Pennsylvanians to justify an even larger state budget. It’s worth asking, how did we get here again? And what…

Media

Regulation

What to Know about the Senate Budget

• Nathan Benefield
• June 30, 2017

Late last night, the Senate unveiled its version of the spending side of a state budget. The Senate advanced the bill from the Appropriations Committee with a full floor vote…

Media

Education

ESAs Advance to Another State—Will Pa. Be Next?

• James Paul
• June 29, 2017

This week, North Carolina became the sixth state to authorize education savings accounts (ESAs)—flexible spending accounts used by parents to customize their child’s education.

Media

State Budget

Lawmakers’ Choice: Bogus Budget Borrowing or Serious Solutions

• June 29, 2017

The start of the new fiscal year is less than two days away, but lawmakers have yet to nail down the specifics for the 2017-18 budget. Higher taxes and new borrowing…

Media

State Budget

PA Budget: What the Constitution Mandates

• Nathan Benefield
• June 28, 2017

As lawmakers debate the details of a new state budget, it’s crucial to remember what our state constitution requires them to do. The Pennsylvania Constitution does not require a…

Media

State Budget

Focusing on What Matters in the Tax Credit Debate

• Bob Dick
• June 27, 2017

Pennsylvania provides tax credits for film production, concerts and video games. House Bill 1519 would combine these credits into one Multimedia Tax Credit Fund. But consolidating tax credits doesn't address…

Media

Health Care

Welfare Reform Efforts Gain Traction

• Elizabeth Stelle
• June 27, 2017

Tax hikes or spending reforms? That's the question before lawmakers as the annual scramble to the June 30th budget deadline proceeds. So it's no surprise lawmakers are turning their attention…

Media

Regulation

News Release: Three Steps to Close State’s Budget Shortfall Without Tax Hikes

• June 27, 2017

With a $1.4 billion projected budget shortfall for 2016-17 and just days to solve it, Pennsylvanians want solutions that won’t take even more money from their pockets. Fortunately, lawmakers and…

Press Release

Regulation

Fact Sheet: Leveraging Liquor Privatization to Balance the Budget

• June 26, 2017

Last year, lawmakers loosened Pennsylvania’s monopolistic grip on wine and liquor sales with the passage of Act 39. However, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) still maintains a high…

Media