Press Releases

State Budget

News Release: Analysis: Senate Tax Hikes Would Cost 3,600 Jobs, $1 Billion in Income

• August 9, 2017

In July, the state Senate narrowly approved a $600 million tax-hike package, raising taxes on home heating, natural gas drilling, electricity, and even cell phone service. The bill comes to…

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Education

News Release: State Senate to Introduce Education Savings Accounts

• August 8, 2017

In a step toward dramatically increasing educational opportunity for students in Pennsylvania’s lowest-performing schools, today Senator John DiSanto unveiled his plan to introduce legislation establishing Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in…

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State Budget

News Release: Senate’s Broad-Based Tax Hikes Should Be Rejected by House

• July 27, 2017

In an effort to close a budget gap created by their own overspending, Senate lawmakers today passed a series of broad-based tax hikes that will hit nearly every Pennsylvania family…

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Education

News Release: Wolf Rewards Ghost Teacher, Union Campaign Contributor with Cabinet Nomination

• July 26, 2017

Failing to show up for work is usually grounds for dismissal, but for Gov. Wolf, it’s reason for promotion. In nominating Jerry Oleksiak as the next Secretary of Labor &…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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.

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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…

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News Release: Last Year’s State Budget Killed Nearly 100 Vape Shops

• June 20, 2017

Facing a budget shortfall last year, lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf slapped a massive 40 percent wholesale tax on vaping products, forcing vape shop owners to pay the tax retroactively…

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Regulation

News Release: Pa. to Enact Nation’s Most Significant Pension Reform

• June 8, 2017

In an overwhelming, bipartisan vote, the state House today voted 143-53 to approve transformative pension reform legislation hailed as a part of a “major turn-around among states” by the…

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Regulation

News Release: Senate Passes Transformative Pension Reform

• June 5, 2017

Today, the state Senate voted 40-9 to pass historic pension reform that Pew Charitable Trusts has said “would mitigate more risk” than reforms passed in any other state “while maintaining…

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Regulation

News Release: State Senate Committee Advances Critical Pension Overhaul

• May 24, 2017

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee approved SB 1, a critical overhaul of Pennsylvania’s troubled public pension system. The bill offers new public workers a side-by-side hybrid pension option that…

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Public Union Democracy

News Release: House Committee Protects Rights of Religious Objectors to Unionism

• May 23, 2017

Most Pennsylvanians take for granted the right to donate to charities they believe in. But for some, this right is routinely violated. Under state law, public employees who object on…

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Education

News Release: Is Your School District Hoarding Cash?

• May 23, 2017

When does a school district’s “rainy day” fund start raising eyebrows? New information from the state Department of Education shows that as state funding for schools reaches an all-time high,…

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Regulation

News Release: House Passes Significant Liquor Reform Bills

• April 26, 2017

Yesterday, the House passed significant liquor reforms designed to end state government’s senseless stranglehold on the wine and liquor industry. Sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai, HB 975 builds…

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Taxes & Economy

News Release: Senate Committee Advances Vape Tax Fix

• April 26, 2017

Today, in the latest attempt to fix an onerous tax responsible for as many as 100 vape shop closures across the state, the Senate Finance Committee advanced SB…

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State Budget

News Release: Pa. Spends Nearly One-Third of Year Working to Pay Taxes

• April 20, 2017

April 18 was this year’s tax return filing deadline, but how long do Pennsylvanians work to earn enough to pay their total tax bill? In 2017, that date—dubbed Tax Freedom…

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Regulation

News Release: House Committee Advances Major Liquor Reforms

• April 18, 2017

Bills Would Break Government Stranglehold Over Wine & Liquor Sales Today, the House Liquor Committee advanced two bills to the floor that represent a…

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News Release: ‘Ghost Teacher’ Ban Passes Senate Committee

• March 29, 2017

Nearly 25% of Pa. School Districts Authorize Ghost Teachers March 29, 2017, HARRISBURG, Pa.—Today, the Senate Education Committee passed SB 494 banning “ghost teachers” who drain resources from…

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Education

News Release: House Expands Popular Tax Credit Scholarship Programs

• March 13, 2017

Thousands More Students Could Attend Schools of Choice March 13, 2017, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, the Pennsylvania House voted to extend the state’s popular tax credit scholarship programs to thousands…

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