State Budget
Are There WAMs in the PA Budget?
A reader called our office today, following a conversation with his local lawmakers, who denied there were any WAMs in the budget, and claimed there had not been in many…
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Big Idea: Privatizing City Services
Sandy Springs, GA, is one of the most efficient cities in the country, as reported in the Tribune Review. Incorporated in 2005, it was the first fully privatized…
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On Partisan Legislative Staffers
One recommendation of the Grand Jury report release this week was that the Pennsylvania General Assembly should move from hiring partisan staff for each caucus to having a centralized…
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Read More: On Partisan Legislative StaffersGovernment Accountability
PA Leadership Conference Wrap-Up
Here are some news stories and blogs from the PA Leadership Conference: William Cinfici’s blog: focusing on Dick Morris’s speech and the panels on polling and government corruption. John…
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State Office Deal Highlights Rendell’s Cronyism
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review has a story about the state paying to lease office space, even though they’ve closed the office. But the more interesting part of the is…
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Read More: State Office Deal Highlights Rendell’s CronyismGovernment Accountability
PA Lawmakers Use Per Diems to Buy Houses
I have often remarked that the exorbitant costs of Pennsylvania legislators’ per diems (see Tribune Review and ABC 27 stories) – that they receive to pay for food…
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Read More: PA Lawmakers Use Per Diems to Buy HousesGovernment Accountability
Right-to-Know Law Still on a Learning Curve
Since the new Open-Records law took effect last January, the number of requests for information have skyrocketed; increasing by as much as 130%, according to the Patriot News. The…
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Read More: Right-to-Know Law Still on a Learning CurveState Budget
The Stimulus and State Budgets
The Wall Street Journal had a recent editorial on the impact of the stimulus on state budgets – noting that while the legislation create a one-time bailout to states,…
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Read More: The Stimulus and State BudgetsEducation
Higher Taxes and Tuition Coming for PA College Students
The Tribune Review reports Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is continuing to threaten a tax on tuition, attempting to use a jedi mind trick to persuade universities to cough up…
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