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Higher teacher salaries sound appealing, but can districts afford them long term?
Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal contains a provision that’s hard to argue with, at least on the surface: higher salaries for teachers. In his 2019-20 budget, Wolf provides nearly $14 million to bump up salaries in districts where teachers make less than $45,000 per year to start. According to state Department of Education records, 178 […]
‘Not a climate bill’: Environmental group pans proposed nuclear deal
Environmental groups are emerging as early critics of a proposed bailout of Pennsylvania’s nuclear industry, a policy that state lawmakers are expected to debate early this year. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a New York-based environmental advocacy group, sent a letter to Pennsylvania lawmakers last week asking them to reject any policy fix for […]
With plant shutdowns looming, Pa.’s nuclear industry braces for a policy showdown
Pennsylvania gets almost half of its energy from nuclear power, but that could soon change if lawmakers don’t amend the state’s alternative energy policies. Two of Pennsylvania’s five nuclear power plants are headed toward shutdown in the next two years due to stiff competition from the state’s natural gas providers. Pennsylvania’s nuclear industry create more […]
Can the Pa. Legislature be trusted to investigate its own #MeToo allegations?
There is still no system to investigate sexual harassment complaints uniformly in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Bipartisan lawmakers are floating proposals to change that.
Republican leaders praise Wolf’s proposed workforce initiatives, bristle at spending increases
State Republicans this afternoon had measured praise for Gov. Tom Wolf’s fifth budget proposal, saying that while they support his initiatives to develop Pennsylvania’s workforce, they may oppose proposals to increase overall spending. “I think we’ll break the normal tradition as the opposition to come out and ridicule or complain about the governor’s proposal,” Senate […]
Black Caucus celebrates past, present and future with Black History Month kickoff
One month after Pennsylvania swore in its most diverse class of lawmakers ever, members of the state’s Legislative Black Caucus aren’t just celebrating Black History – they’re also making it. Pennsylvania’s Legislative Black Caucus (PLBC) kicked off Black History Month yesterday with 90 minutes of song, dance and speeches Monday in the Capitol Rotunda. Lawmakers […]
Can doctors and rising suicide rates convince Pa. lawmakers to act on guns?
When more than a dozen moderate Republican lawmakers lost their re-election bids in 2018, some advocates worried that the new makeup of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly could stymie legislation on progressive policy issues. As one of the state’s leading advocates for gun-control, Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFire PA, knows that moderate lawmakers can drum up […]