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Education
2025 State of Education Spending in Pennsylvania
Overview The national trends impacting education in Pennsylvania in 2025 include an impending fiscal cliff, under-enrolled schools, and population decline, all of which lead to school closures…
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Public Union Democracy
Protecting Public Employees’ Personal Information
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Health Care
How to Help Pennsylvanians Prosper with Medicaid and SNAP Reform
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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Government Union Political Spending in the 2021–22 Election Cycle
Introduction According to campaign finance reports and union financial disclosure statements, Pennsylvania government unions have spent $169 million on politics since 2007, making government unions a top special interest in…
Fact Sheet
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The Battle for Worker Freedom in the States: Grading State Public Sector Labor Laws
KEY POINTS In the four years following the Janus v. AFSCME U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the nation’s four largest government unions—AFSCME, SEIU, NEA, and AFT—have lost almost 219,000 union…
Report
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Pa. Economic Trends September 2022
Overview Families across the country continue to feel the pressure of rising prices. The Consumer Price Index is up 8.3% over the last year, and while gasoline prices have fallen…
Backgrounder
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Pennsylvania Back-to-School Education Trends
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 among…
Research
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New Numbers on Political Spending by Government Union Executives
Labor Day is a celebration of the American worker—their contributions and achievements that make this country great. Unfortunately, many American workers are sidelined—even bullied—by organizations that are meant to represent…
Memo
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Pa. Back to School 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…
Report
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Corporate Welfare, No Boost to Business Climate
Summary Pennsylvania’s economy continues to struggle. In June, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate reached 4.5 percent, the fifth highest in the nation.[1], [2] As of June…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Corporate Welfare, No Boost to Business ClimateCriminal Justice Reform
Juvenile Justice Reform
Key Points The Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force (Task Force) found most youth entering the juvenile justice system committed low-level offenses and are “low risk to reoffend.”[1]Studies…
Backgrounder
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What to know about the 2022 state budget deal
Pennsylvania lawmakers today unveiled the next fiscal year’s state budget plan. The Bad News: This budget represents excessive growth in government spending, increasing state spending by 10.7 percent over last…
Memo
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Medicaid’s Endless Expansion
Key Points Medicaid enrollment has surged, increasing by more than one million since 2015.[1] The program now covers more than one-quarter of all Pennsylvanians.Medicaid is the largest program…
Backgrounder
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Teacher Union Collective Bargaining Agreements 4 Years Post-Janus
On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in Janus v. AFSCME. The court ruled that public-sector employees no longer had to financially support a…
Memo
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