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With new leadership in the Pa. Senate, what are lawmakers prioritizing when they return to session?
Since Democrats and Republicans in the GOP-controlled chamber announced new leadership teams this week, their policy agendas and goals vary.
Senate committee investigating Pa. elections holds hearing on ballot drop boxes, Dems walk out
Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, said Democratic committee members did not have time to prepare for Thursday’s hearing.
Lawmakers, Jewish leaders announce $4.5M in security grants; call for permanent funding
Lawmakers from the House and Senate joined Jewish leaders in Pittsburgh on Thursday, as the nation and world observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to announce a new round of state funding for a program intended to keep marginalized and vulnerable communities safe from harm. “You all stepped up. You realized that our community, and all […]
Tree of Life allocated $6.6M in state funds for redevelopment efforts
"We will transform this site that has been marked by horror and the H-word into one full of hope, remembrance, and education," Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers said Monday.
Pa. legislators react to Wolf vetoing expanded concealed carry bill
As promised, Wolf vetoed a bill introduced by Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson, that allows for concealed carry without a permit, lowers the legal age from 21 to 18, and grants open carry in Philadelphia.
Legislators at work? One in 5 laws enacted in Pa. this year renamed a bridge (or road)
Much like legislation naming post offices to members of Congress, bills to name bridges and roads are a staple of slow legislative days in Harrisburg. The honorees range from military members and first responders who have died in the line of service to deceased lawmakers and local historical figures. But such legislation has made up […]
The clock is ticking for lawmakers to draw Pa.’s legislative maps. Here’s why
They must draw the maps by Jan. 2022, but likely will try to finish early to meet deadlines for next year's election.
This Pa. budget season, we must invest in safer communities | Opinion
Lawmakers must make this reducing gun violence a top priority in this year’s budget. Lives are depending on it.
To spend or not to spend, Harrisburg asks this budget season
The question of how to spend $7.3 billion in federal stimulus funds has quickly -- and predictably -- cleaved along party lines.
‘We are all in the crossfire’: With gun violence on the rise during the pandemic, one Philadelphia mom is fighting back | Thursday Morning Coffee
“There’s a frustrating sense of normality about murders in our country … the reality is that we are all in the crossfire," an activist said. "The only way to reduce gun violence is to work together."
Wolf broke the fourth wall with his budget speech. Will Pa. tune in? | John L. Micek
A very different time demanded a very different kind of budget address. We got that much. We'll see what happens next.
With extremism resurgent, will Pa. finally pass a tougher hate crimes law? | Friday Morning Coffee
'Hate crimes have become part of American life, the new normal in our country,' a Pittsburgh lawmaker, who's trying to turn the tide, says.