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Education
Key Takeaways from Governor’s 2024 Budget Proposal
Key Points Gov. Josh Shapiro’s startling spending increases and myriad of new initiatives would explode the budget deficit and invite massive tax hikes on working families in the coming years.
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Energy
Pa. Travelers’ Guide: Summer Gasoline Prices
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Public Union Democracy
HB 950: A Power Grab for Union Executives at the Expense of Workers
Summary House Bill 950 proposes an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution creating a “fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively” for both private and public sector employees.[1]The…
Fact Sheet
Read More: HB 950: A Power Grab for Union Executives at the Expense of WorkersPublic Union Democracy
Pennsylvania House Labor & Industry Committee Testimony on HB 950
Chairmen Dawkins and Mackenzie: Good afternoon. Thanks to Chairmen Dawkins and Mackenzie for the invitation to testify on this resolution, and thanks to the rest of the committee for your…
Testimony
Read More: Pennsylvania House Labor & Industry Committee Testimony on HB 950Welfare
Unwinding Medicaid Continuous Enrollment
Summary On April 1, Pennsylvania returned to normal Medicaid eligibility rules and began a year-long process of redetermining eligibility for all 3.68 million beneficiaries.Medicaid spending grows faster than our state…
Fact Sheet
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Common Ground in the Commonwealth Poll Findings
Summary The Common Ground in the Commonwealth Poll, conducted March 24-29, is the first in a series of quarterly surveys taking the pulse of voters on the “state of the…
Memo
Read More: Common Ground in the Commonwealth Poll FindingsTaxes & Economy
Minimum Wage
Summary One percent of Pennsylvania workers earn the minimum wage, an all-time low.Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Recent analysis by Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Minimum WagePublic Union Democracy
Government Union Political Spending in the 2021–22 Election Cycle
Key Points Government unions are a top interest group in Pennsylvania, spending more than $190 million on politics since 2007. Government union political action committee (PAC) spending continues to increase,…
Backgrounder
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Fiscal Impact of School Choice
Summary Tax credit scholarships and Education Opportunity Accounts (EOAs) provide students with educational opportunity at a fraction of what public schools cost, generating significant savings for taxpayers. Educational choice programs…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Fiscal Impact of School ChoiceProsperity
Tearing Down Barriers to Prosperity: How More Economic Freedom Can Reduce Poverty and Boost Prosperity in Pennsylvania
Key Findings Economic freedom, specifically lower government spending, strongly and consistently offers both increases in prosperity and reductions in poverty.States that gained economic freedom from 2010 to 2019 tend to…
Executive Summary
Read More: Tearing Down Barriers to Prosperity: How More Economic Freedom Can Reduce Poverty and Boost Prosperity in PennsylvaniaProsperity
Tearing Down the Barriers to Prosperity: What Pennsylvanians Say About Poverty and Prosperity
Unlike most reports on poverty, this report combines statistics, a survey of Pennsylvanians with income below 200 percent of the poverty line, and in-depth interviews to identify common barriers to…
Executive Summary
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Review of Regulation Constitutional Amendment
What is the Constitutional Amendment on Legislative Review of Regulations? This amendment would allow the legislature to reject a proposed regulation by passing a concurrent resolution with a simple majority…
Backgrounder
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Speaker Rozzi’s Listening Tour Testimony
Mr. Speaker and members of the working group, thank you for allowing Commonwealth Foundation to provide brief comments on the importance of the house returning to work. My name is…
Testimony
Read More: Speaker Rozzi’s Listening Tour TestimonyFairness
Voter ID Constitutional Amendment
Key Points Voter ID requirements improve election integrity, while voter turnout increases, without impacting election outcomes.Pennsylvania voters support Voter ID requirements by a wide margin, with support across all regions…
Backgrounder
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Assessing Gov. Tom Wolf’s Tenure
Key Points During Gov. Tom Wolf’s eight years in office, Pennsylvania ranked below the national average in income growth, job growth, and population growth.State government spending increased significantly under Wolf,…
Backgrounder
Read More: Assessing Gov. Tom Wolf’s TenureProsperity
Pennsylvania State Budget Outlook
In November, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its Five Year Economic and Budget Outlook. Here are several trends for lawmakers. Pennsylvania’s Economy Remains Stagnant IFO forecasts Pennsylvania’s…
Fact Sheet
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Pa. Tax Credit Scholarships
Summary Pennsylvania awarded almost 63,000 K–12 scholarships, and the average overall scholarship increased to over $2,500 for the 2020–21 school year. In 2020–21, K–12 students in Pennsylvania submitted almost 139,000…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Pa. Tax Credit ScholarshipsHealth Care
The Case for Nurse Practitioner Reform: Full Practice Authority in Pennsylvania
Key Points More than 580,000 Pennsylvanians live in areas with a shortage of primary care professionals relative to the population. This shortage exists throughout the state but concentrates in rural…
Backgrounder
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Rising Electricity Costs
How High Are Electric Bills Rising? Electricity bills are rising across the commonwealth by an average of 73 percent between December 2020 and December 2022.Increases range from 55 percent for…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Rising Electricity CostsHealth Care
How Full Practice Authority Can Increase Access and Improve Outcomes
Key Findings Marylanders in border counties have better health care outcomes, including fewer residents reporting fair or poor health and fewer residents with poor mental health days.Before full practice authority,…
Report
Read More: How Full Practice Authority Can Increase Access and Improve OutcomesFairness
Frequently Asked Q&A About Election Integrity in Pennsylvania
It’s time for all registered Pennsylvanians to exercise our civic duty and head out to vote on Tuesday, November 8th. With public opinion polls showing a lack of confidence…
Research
Read More: Frequently Asked Q&A About Election Integrity in PennsylvaniaIndependence
Pa’s Wayward Welfare State
Summary Policies that expanded Medicaid eligibility to healthy, working-aged people and do not require the verification of eligibility have expanded the size and complexity of a program designed to focus…
Fact Sheet
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The Dangers of Environmental, Social, and Governance Mandates
*This testimony was requested by the House Commerce Committee for a hearing that did not occur.* Chairman Roae, Chairman Galloway and members of the House Commerce Committee, thank you for…
Testimony
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