Latest Content
Education
Pennsylvania School Funding Reaches $23,000 per Student in 2024
Pennsylvania Public School Spending is Growing Public school spending reaches historic levels year after year. Pennsylvania public school revenue per student increased to $23,061 in the 2023-24 school year, up…
Read More: Pennsylvania School Funding Reaches $23,000 per Student in 2024
Education
Rethinking School District Reserve Funds as Students Return to Class
Read More: Rethinking School District Reserve Funds as Students Return to Class
Education
Persistently Dangerous Pennsylvania Public Schools
Read More: Persistently Dangerous Pennsylvania Public SchoolsHealth Care
Health Care Myths and Facts
Summary Pennsylvanians want personalized, flexible, accessible, and cost-effective health care. Market-based reforms to make price information available, expand telemedicine, and modernize Pennsylvania’s Nursing Law can reduce health care costs and…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Health Care Myths and FactsEducation
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.
Backgrounder
Read More: Key Takeaways from Governor’s 2024 Budget ProposalState Budget
Takeaways from the (Mostly) Finalized 2023–24 Pennsylvania State Budget
Overview With the passage of Fiscal Code and School Code bills in December, work on the 2023–24 Pennsylvania state budget ended mostly done, six months late. The budget is as…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Takeaways from the (Mostly) Finalized 2023–24 Pennsylvania State BudgetEducation
Education Funding in the Commonwealth
Pennsylvania Outspends the Nation on Public Schools Pennsylvania ranks among the highest-spending states on public education. According to National Center for Education Statistics data, as of fiscal year (FY) 2021,…
Backgrounder
Read More: Education Funding in the CommonwealthEducation
Lifeline and Education Choice Myths and Facts
Summary Lifeline Scholarships, also known as the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) program, would offer scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $15,000 per year for students in the commonwealth’s lowest-performing…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Lifeline and Education Choice Myths and FactsEducation
Tax Credit Scholarships: An Investment in Educational Opportunity
Summary Pennsylvania scholarship organizations awarded 77,670 K–12 scholarships through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) in the 2021–22 school year. The average 2021–22 scholarship…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Tax Credit Scholarships: An Investment in Educational OpportunityPublic Union Democracy
The Battle for Worker Freedom: How Government Unions Fund Politics Across the Country
Key Findings The four largest government unions, the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Service Employees International…
Executive Summary
Read More: The Battle for Worker Freedom: How Government Unions Fund Politics Across the CountryEducation
2023 PSSA Scores Highlight the Need for Educational Opportunity
Summary The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) scores from spring 2023. Test results show that fourth- and eighth-grade students struggle to…
Fact Sheet
Read More: 2023 PSSA Scores Highlight the Need for Educational OpportunityHealth Care
The Personal Option for Health Care in Pennsylvania
Summary Keep and expand the health care systems that work: Protect Direct Primary Care (DPC) practices. Allow expanded Association Health Plans (AHPs) so small businesses can offer more affordable coverage.
Backgrounder
Read More: The Personal Option for Health Care in PennsylvaniaRegulation
Regulatory Streamlining in Pennsylvania Would Boost Opportunities for State Residents
Introduction Good morning, members of the Senate Majority Policy Committee. My name is James Broughel and I am a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, as…
Testimony
Read More: Regulatory Streamlining in Pennsylvania Would Boost Opportunities for State ResidentsRegulation
How Overregulated Is Pennsylvania?
Summary Pennsylvania has a major problem: it’s dangerously overregulated. According to a September 2023 Commonwealth Foundation study, “Cutting Red Tape in Pennsylvania,” the Keystone State enforces a whopping 166,219…
Fact Sheet
Read More: How Overregulated Is Pennsylvania?Education
Shapiro’s Legislative Record: Last in Nation Among Divided Governments
Overview An analysis by the Commonwealth Foundation of bills enacted in the first half of 2023 reveals Pennsylvania has been the least productive among states with divided government. This analysis…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Shapiro’s Legislative Record: Last in Nation Among Divided GovernmentsRegulation
Cutting Red Tape in Pennsylvania
This report presents findings from Mercatus Center’s State RegData database, analyzing regulations in the Pennsylvania Code as of 2022. The report provides an overview of state regulations, how Pennsylvania’s regulatory…
Executive Summary
Read More: Cutting Red Tape in PennsylvaniaEnergy
Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Mandates in Pennsylvania
Key Points Studies show adopting Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) criteria is not associated with better labor or environmental regulatory compliance. Emerging studies show ESG criteria are associated with lower…
Backgrounder
Read More: Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Mandates in PennsylvaniaPublic Union Democracy
Government Union Contracts Increase Again
Summary Pennsylvania elected officials routinely and secretly negotiate billion-dollar labor contracts with government union leaders from whom they often receive political donations. These labor contracts are a major cost of…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Government Union Contracts Increase AgainEducation
Pa. Back to School Public Education Trends
Overview As students head back to school, there are many claims of teacher shortages and funding shortfalls. In reality, public school spending is at a record high, and Pennsylvania ranks…
Backgrounder
Read More: Pa. Back to School Public Education TrendsState Budget
Takeaways from the Unfinished 2023–24 State Budget
Summary The state budget remains unfinished. While Gov. Josh Shapiro signed off on the general appropriation bill (House Bill 611), authorizing more than $40 billion in state general fund spending,…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Takeaways from the Unfinished 2023–24 State BudgetRegulation
Shapiro’s First Six Months Least Productive Legislatively in 50 Years
Overview An analysis by the Commonwealth Foundation of bills signed reveals Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first six months were the least productive of any gubernatorial term in at least 50 years.
Fact Sheet
Read More: Shapiro’s First Six Months Least Productive Legislatively in 50 YearsEducation
Lifeline (PASS) Scholarship Program
Overview Lifeline Scholarships, also known as the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) program, would offer an Education Opportunity Account (EOA) to any student residing in a school ranked in…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Lifeline (PASS) Scholarship ProgramEducation
Lifeline Scholarship Program
Overview Lifeline Scholarships (Senate Bill 795 and House Bill 1432) offer an Education Opportunity Account (EOA) to students residing in a school ranked in the bottom 15 percent…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Lifeline Scholarship ProgramRegulation
How Pa. Can Show it is Open for Business
Summary Pennsylvania’s economy is performing poorly with high unemployment, low labor force participation, and lackluster job growth. Roughly 40,000 residents left the state last year because of poor economic conditions…
Fact Sheet
Read More: How Pa. Can Show it is Open for Business