pa-legis

Lancaster city councilors Izzy Smith-Wade-El and Janet Diaz are competing for a newly open district in Lancaster

More diverse candidates are on the ballot for Harrisburg in 2022, but Latinos are largely left out

BY: - April 24, 2022

This disconnect is particularly notable in Allentown, a majority-Latino city.

Wave of GOP primary challengers seek Harrisburg shakeup over mail-in voting, pandemic response

BY: - April 19, 2022

Among those who face opponents  are House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, both chambers’ top budget officials — House and Senate Appropriations Committee chairs Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York, and Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh — and a handful of other minor members of leadership, as well as a number of rank-and-file members.

Lease or reimburse? Pa. House lawmakers chose the latter for their state-sponsored travel

BY: - April 12, 2022

The leases cost between $419 to $650 a month as of 2021, depending on the vehicle, House Clerk Brooke Wheeler said in an email. At full price, that would cost taxpayers between $5,028 to $7,800 a year, but lawmakers also pay the House back a portion of the cost to cover personal travel. 

Pa.’s governor candidates feud over how to reduce pain at the pump

BY: - April 10, 2022

There's small distinctions between each candidate's plan; though some activists want to see them be more creative.

Josh Shapiro about to speak a press conference

Capital-Star Q+A: Josh Shapiro on the death penalty, climate and Harrisburg

BY: - April 8, 2022

The only Democratic gubernatorial candidate on the ballot in 2022 says he's here to take on 'big fights.'

GOP opposition to proposed Wolf regs on carbon pricing; charter schools could shape coming months

BY: and - April 7, 2022

Wolf, who has long called for charter school reform and a raise to the minimum wage, celebrated the commission’s decision, pushing back against accusations from Republicans by telling the commission the regulations are not outside of its jurisdiction.

Carol Kuniholm, of the reform group, Fair Districts PA, speaks during a news conference at the Pennsylvania Capitol on Wednesday, 3/30/22 (Capital-Star Photo by Stephen Caruso).

Advocates ask for rewrite of Pa. Legislature’s rules to prioritize bipartisan bills

BY: - March 30, 2022

House GOP leadership said the calls for reform came from 'participation trophy liberals.'

Harrisburg is set for a makeover amid retirement wave and a busy primary season

BY: - March 29, 2022

A total of 37 lawmakers are calling it quits this year, leaving some hotly contested openings in races around the state.

Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law has its day in Supreme Court

BY: - March 8, 2022

Roles were reversed in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday, as attorneys argued over the fate of the state’s three-year-old mail-in voting law, with lawyers for Gov. Tom Wolf arguing to protect legislative power, and lawyers for 14 dissident lawmakers arguing to undo a law that 11 of them had voted to approve. The law, […]

Can carbon capture fit into Pennsylvania’s climate solutions?

BY: - February 20, 2022

After more than two years of trying to block a carbon-pricing scheme for Pennsylvania, legislative Republicans have introduced a counter offer. Earlier this month, GOP lawmakers in the House added an extra provision to a bill blocking the commonwealth from entering the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The initiative, also known as RGGI, mandates that power […]

GOP lawmakers celebrate Act 77 ruling, though what’s next is unclear

BY: - February 9, 2022

The order, which struck down mail-in ballots, has already been appealed, and further legislative action is on hold.

Wolf vetoes GOP congressional map, courts to pick Pa.’s redistricting plan

BY: - January 27, 2022

'The people of Pennsylvania deserve a fair election map that promotes accountability and responsiveness to voters and is drawn in an open and honest way,' Wolf said in his veto message.