PA Budget with Fletcher McClellan, Elizabethtown College Professor

Predictions were made that lawmakers would have little trouble putting together a state budget before the deadline.  Well, those predictions turned out to be right.  Fletcher McClellan, a Professor of Political Science at Elizabethtown College, explains the overall spending increases in the budget, the news for education, and the factors that may have greased the […]

Child Sexual Abuse Statute of Limitations with Rep. Mark Rozzi

The release of a massive, highly-anticipated report examining sexual abuse by priests in Pennsylvania has been blocked the state Supreme Court.   Rep. Mark Rozzi, himself a victim of this type of abuse as a child, says it’s a “travesty of justice and an insult to all victims.”  He is planning to renew his efforts to […]

PA Budget with House Minority Leader Frank Dermody

Though the governor and the Republican majority in the legislature have their own ideas for the budget, House Democrats say they’re taking their spending ideas directly to the people.  House Minority Leader Rep. Frank Dermody says hosting town halls on the phone has given Pennsylvanians a chance to ask questions about Democratic spending priorities like […]

PA Budget with Appropriations Minority Chair Sen. Vincent Hughes

Governor Wolf and the Republican majority in the legislature seem convinced there’ll be a minimum of drama putting a state budget into place by the end of the month.  But Democrats want their voices to be heard too.  Senator Vincent Hughes, Minority Chair of the Appropriations Committee,  is especially interested in funding that could benefit […]

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati

When Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court rejected Republicans’ plan to to redraw boundaries for political districts and  substitute their own map, one Senate Republican thought the court was way out of line.    Senator Joe Scarnati says the court “trampled, shredded and burned” the constitution when they trumped the legislature just before May’s primary election.  The battle between […]

PA Budget with Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa

Governor Tom Wolf is proposing a spending plan of $33 billion for Pennsylvania’s next fiscal year.  That represents an increase of $1 billion above the current budget.   Tax collections being up and the deficit being down both contribute to the governor’s optimism that the budget will be completed by deadline at the end of the […]

PA Budget with Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman

Governor Tom Wolf says his natural gas severance tax proposal should be an “easy lift” for lawmakers as the June 30 deadline for the state budget draws near.  But the Republican majority in the legislature would disagree; they’ve rejected the idea on three previous occasions.  Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman explains the spending priorities that […]

PA Budget with Minority Appropriations Chair Joe Markosek

“We seem to be in a pretty good spot,” says Governor Tom Wolf about the state’s financial affairs.  He has reasons to be optimistic.  Tax collections are up and the deficit is down.   For the fourth consecutive year, he’s hoping lawmakers will embrace his plan to make natural gas drillers pay a new tax.   Representative […]

State Funding for Private Schools with Sen. John DiSanto

Families who have kids struggling in public schools could get funds from the state to send those kids to private school.  Senator John DiSanto says it’s time to give students choices outside their zip code.  He says, under Senate Bill 2, a child enrolled in one of Pennsylvania’s worst-performing public schools could have state funding […]

On The Issues: Gerrymandering with Former PA Legislator Franklin Kury

Imagine a football game where one team has to go 150 yards for a touchdown, and the other team needs only a total of 50 yards to score.  This is former state legislator and author Franklin Kury’s analogy to gerrymandering, a subject he writes about in his book, “Gerrymandering:  A Guide to Congressional Redistricting, Dark Money, […]