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Taxes & Economy
New Poll: Voters Demand Affordable Energy, More Educational Options, and Lower Taxes
Affordability is top of mind for Pennsylvanians, with 58 percent of voters naming either rising prices and inflation or the economy and jobs as the single most important issue…
Read More: New Poll: Voters Demand Affordable Energy, More Educational Options, and Lower Taxes
Education
U.S. Treasury Releases Final Guidelines on Federal Scholarship Program
Read More: U.S. Treasury Releases Final Guidelines on Federal Scholarship Program
Government Accountability
Shapiro Administration Rescinds Dept. of Health Rule Due to Public Pressure
Read More: Shapiro Administration Rescinds Dept. of Health Rule Due to Public Pressure
Government Accountability
Commonwealth Foundation Comments on Gov. Shapiro’s Executive Overreach
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Comments on Gov. Shapiro’s Executive Overreach
School Choice Expansion Bill Passes House Committee
April 29, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.— Last year, Commonwealth Foundation research revealed that more than half of all student applications to Pennsylvania’s tax credit scholarship programs are denied. Now, lawmakers are…
Press Release
Read More: School Choice Expansion Bill Passes House Committee
Crucial Reform Needed from Harrisburg as Tax Day Approaches
April 11, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Tax Day may be April 15th, but Americans will be working one more day before they’ve earned enough to pay their national, state, and local tax…
Press Release
Read More: Crucial Reform Needed from Harrisburg as Tax Day ApproachesPublic Union Democracy
PSEA Flouts SCOTUS Ruling, Bargains for Unconstitutional ‘Fair Share’ Fees in Teacher Contracts
In open disregard for the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME decision, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) is bargaining to impose “fair share” fees on non-union member teachers in…
Press Release
Read More: PSEA Flouts SCOTUS Ruling, Bargains for Unconstitutional ‘Fair Share’ Fees in Teacher Contracts
House Committee Approves Bill Notifying Public Employees of Constitutional Rights
March 18, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa. — Today, the state House Labor and Industry Committee passed the Employee Rights Notification Act (HB 785), sending it to the full House. The legislation, sponsored…
Press Release
Read More: House Committee Approves Bill Notifying Public Employees of Constitutional Rights
As Wolf Holds Secret Contract Talks, State Workers Average $100,000+ in Compensation
February 21, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—With most state employee contracts expiring in June, Gov. Wolf and government employee union leaders are negotiating behind closed doors over agreements worth more than $3…
Press Release
Read More: As Wolf Holds Secret Contract Talks, State Workers Average $100,000+ in CompensationState Budget
Wolf’s Budget Rhetoric a Relief, but Doesn’t Match Reality
Charles Mitchell, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, issued the following statement in response to Gov. Wolf’s fifth budget address: What a change four years and nine defeated…
Press Release
Read More: Wolf’s Budget Rhetoric a Relief, but Doesn’t Match Reality
Poll: Support for School Choice Rises, Crosses Partisan & Racial Divide
Two-thirds of likely 2020 voters support school choice policies, according to a nationwide survey released by the American Federation for Children in partnership with the left-leaning polling firm Beck…
Press Release
Read More: Poll: Support for School Choice Rises, Crosses Partisan & Racial DivideCriminal Justice Reform
Pa. Prison Population Plummets by Most in History
Pennsylvania’s prison population dropped by 1,068 individuals in 2018, according to new Department of Corrections numbers—the sharpest decline ever recorded. The number of incarcerated Pennsylvanians declined in six of…
Press Release
Read More: Pa. Prison Population Plummets by Most in HistoryTaxes & Economy
Trump Administration’s Food Stamp Changes Could Affect 59 Pa. Counties
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to strengthen existing work requirements for work-capable adults in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps). The rule change…
Press Release
Read More: Trump Administration’s Food Stamp Changes Could Affect 59 Pa. CountiesHealth Care
Wolf Vetoes Opportunity for Healthy Adults to Escape Poverty
October 19, 2018, Harrisburg, Pa.—Late this afternoon, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed HB 2138, a bold anti-poverty bill aimed at helping Pennsylvanians achieve independence. The legislation would have incentivized healthy,…
Press Release
Read More: Wolf Vetoes Opportunity for Healthy Adults to Escape PovertyHealth Care
Pa. Legislature Sends Landmark Anti-Poverty Reform to Gov. Wolf
October 17, 2018, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, the Pennsylvania Legislature sent a landmark anti-poverty bill to Governor Wolf’s desk. HB 2138 will help healthy, childless adults enrolled in Medicaid move from…
Press Release
Read More: Pa. Legislature Sends Landmark Anti-Poverty Reform to Gov. WolfPublic Union Democracy
Government Unions ?’All-In’ for Wolf, Give Over $10 Million in Political Support
Pennsylvania’s government unions have crossed the $10 million mark in political support for Gov. Tom Wolf, according to a Commonwealth Foundation analysis of the latest campaign filings. Since 2013, government…
Press Release
Read More: Government Unions ?’All-In’ for Wolf, Give Over $10 Million in Political SupportEducation
Opportunity Denied: 50,000+ Tax Credit Scholarship Applications Rejected Annually
Pennsylvania’s tax credit scholarship programs are so popular that they could double in size and still not meet demand. That’s a major finding of a new report by the…
Press Release
Read More: Opportunity Denied: 50,000+ Tax Credit Scholarship Applications Rejected AnnuallyPublic Union Democracy
Lawmakers and Union Leaders Attack Election Privacy
Today, Rep. Maureen Madden and Rep. Thomas Mehaffie introduced anti-worker legislation that would strip government workers of privacy rights in workplace elections and give union leaders workers’ personal information. HB…
Press Release
Read More: Lawmakers and Union Leaders Attack Election PrivacyPublic Union Democracy
House Committee Advances Bills Giving Government Workers a Bigger Voice
Today, the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee passed several crucial bills supporting government workers’ constitutional rights. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that…
Press Release
Read More: House Committee Advances Bills Giving Government Workers a Bigger VoicePublic Union Democracy
Survey: Majority of Government Union Members Approve of Janus Decision
A majority of government workers agree with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME decision, according to a nationwide survey released last week. The survey of government union…
Press Release
Read More: Survey: Majority of Government Union Members Approve of Janus DecisionPublic Union Democracy
Unions’ Investment Pays Off, Court OKs Wolf’s Home Care Unionization Scheme
Today, the state Supreme Court reinstated Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2015 executive order allowing more than 20,000 home care workers to be unionized. Wolf’s order was previously declared illegal and permanently…
Press Release
Read More: Unions’ Investment Pays Off, Court OKs Wolf’s Home Care Unionization SchemeGovernment Accountability
State Budget Bill Packed with $35 Million in Earmarks
July 24, 2018, Harrisburg, Pa.—Nearly 50 obscurely-worded earmarks are buried in Pennsylvania’s fiscal code—amounting to $35 million in hidden expenses—according to a Commonwealth Foundation analysis. Click here for a searchable…
Press Release
Read More: State Budget Bill Packed with $35 Million in Earmarks
State Rep. Stephen Bloom to Join Commonwealth Foundation as Vice President
July 17, 2018, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, the Commonwealth Foundation is pleased to announce that state Rep. Stephen Bloom will join the organization as vice president in December after his term’s conclusion.
Press Release
Read More: State Rep. Stephen Bloom to Join Commonwealth Foundation as Vice PresidentEducation
Statement on 2018 AFT Convention
Commonwealth Foundation VP and COO Nathan Benefield issued the following statement regarding the American Federation of Teachers convention taking place in Pittsburgh this weekend. The convention’s keynote speakers on Friday,…
Press Release
Read More: Statement on 2018 AFT ConventionPublic Union Democracy
SCOTUS Champions Worker Freedom in Historic Decision
June 27, 2018, Harrisburg, Pa. — For decades, government workers in Pennsylvania and other forced-union states have faced an unjust workplace ultimatum: Pay a union, or lose your job. But with today’s…
Press Release
Read More: SCOTUS Champions Worker Freedom in Historic Decision