joe-pittman

Pa.’s largest coal plant is retiring. Could it transition to renewables?

BY: - May 15, 2023

Homer City Generating Station has been used to delay environmental regulations. Could the infamous site become a symbol for the just transition?

COMMENTARY
Pa. House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star).

Sure the budget jockeying is interesting. But don’t forget it impacts real people | Ray E. Landis

BY: - May 8, 2023

The one-vote majority Democrats hold in the lower chamber could also be more a curse than a blessing in budget negotiations.

A proposed reduction to Pennsylvania's corporate net income tax could be included in this year's state budget.

Pa. collected $5.7B in taxes in April, new state data show | Wednesday Morning Coffee

BY: - May 3, 2023

State revenues continue to grow as the June 30 budget deadline closes in.

State Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, speaks during the Whole-Home Repairs Act Rally held on the Capitol steps on May 24, 2022 in Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg, for the Capital-Star).

‘For every Pennsylvanian’: Pa. Senate Dems release 2023 priorities list | Monday Morning Coffee

BY: - April 24, 2023

'We share a strong belief that our government can -- and must -- level the playing field,' Senate Democrats said.

Is Pennsylvania any closer to having legal weed?

BY: - April 24, 2023

The commonwealth continues to lag behind its neighbors in cashing in on legalized recreational marijuana

COMMENTARY
Gov. Josh Shapiro addresses a joint session of the state House and Senate on Tuesday, 3/7/23 (Photo by Amanda Mustard, for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star).

A ‘commonsense’ budget? In Harrisburg? Just maybe | Wednesday Morning Coffee

BY: - March 8, 2023

There's a little something for everyone in Gov. Josh Shapiro's first budget. Here's why that might work in his favor.

Pennsylvania Capitol Building. May 24, 2022. Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg, for the Capital-Star).

Pa. Senate Democrats urge vote on House-approved proposals providing relief for abuse survivors

BY: - February 27, 2023

Pennsylvania Senate Democrats argue that the upper chamber hasn’t fulfilled a commitment to providing relief for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Here’s what election reforms could come in Harrisburg after power shift in Pa. statehouse

BY: - December 30, 2022

Lawmakers, lobbyists, and voting advocates preview their elections reform wishlists for the next session.

Opponents of cap-and-trade contemplate legislative, legal options to stop RGGI

BY: - November 19, 2019

Tax carbon? You’re gonna need a bill for that. It’s a message that Republicans — and some Democrats — have hammered home ever since Gov. Tom Wolf announced in early October he was forging ahead with a plan to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI, as it’s known in official shorthand, is a nine […]

Sens. Joe Pittman, R-18, and Doug Mastriano, R-33, swear the oath office to the Pennsylvania state Senate on June 10.

Republican special election winners sworn in to state Senate

BY: - June 10, 2019

Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Adams, and Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, took the oath of office on Monday, three weeks after soundly defeating Democratic challengers in special elections on May 21.

Doug Mastriano and Joe Pittman.

Representing a majority, elected by a minority: Low voter turnout persists in special state Senate elections

BY: - May 24, 2019

Paltry voter turnout Tuesday in a pair of special elections for the Pennsylvania state Senate means the Republican-controlled chamber will gain two new members who were voted into office by a sliver of their constituents. Only a quarter of registered voters in the Indiana County-based 41st District, and a scant 17 percent of voters in […]

Doug Mastriano and Joe Pittman.

Republicans cruise to victory in two state Senate special elections

BY: - May 21, 2019

Republicans held on to two state Senate seats in central and western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, as GOP candidates in the 33rd and 41st districts cruised to easy victory.