State Budget

How to Balance the State Budget without Raising Taxes in a Pandemic

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • November 6, 2020

Reducing spending to reflect how the pandemic impacted state agencies and balance the budget without tax hikes or borrowing is the first step. Without additional structural spending changes laid out in…

Backgrounder

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Nurse Practitioners Are the Heroes Our Healthcare Needs

  • Tirzah Duren
  • October 16, 2020

Through HB 100, a pilot program would duplicate this year’s rule suspension within the limits of location- and population-based Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA), a federal designation of provider shortages.

Commentary

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How to Balance the Budget: Revenue Options

  • Andrew Abramczyk
  • October 2, 2020

Pennsylvania’s partial-year budget to fund the government through November relied on federal emergency aid to patch a prospective deficit. The state cannot count on such extra resources in the future.

Backgrounder

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Education

Pa. Homeschooling 101: Legal Requirements

  • Colleen Hroncich
  • July 27, 2020

Thinking about homeschooling in Pennsylvania but don’t know where to begin? Here’s what you need to know to get started from education policy expert and homeschool mom Colleen Hroncich. Understanding…

Commentary

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Health Care

Top 10 Corona Virus FAQ’s for Pennsylvanians

  • April 30, 2020

Since the COVID-19 pandemic spread to Pennsylvania, we’ve been deluged with questions about what state government is doing. Below are the top 10 questions we’ve been asked with our quick…

Fact Sheet

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Education

Fast Lies and Slow Truths

  • Marc LeBlond
  • March 11, 2020

All students—regardless of school type—deserve a student-based funding system. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, only 14% of the $1.2 billion Special Education appropriation is distributed based on categories of…

Commentary

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Health Care

Where Have All the Human Service Dollars Gone?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • February 10, 2020

Nearly half of Pennsylvania's budget goes to human services or welfare. Governor Wolf wants to increase human service spending by $1.4 billion next year. But how well are these programs…

Commentary

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