Journalists Roundtable: February 8, 2018

On Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito did not issue a stay of the PA Supreme Court decision that ordered PA’s 18 Congressional districts to be redrawn. The PA Supreme Court ruled that the 2011 Congressional Redistricting Act is unconstitutional and said it would draw lines itself if it doesn’t receive a plan from the General Assembly and governor by Feb. 15. The House State Government Committee reported the bill to the House floor Tuesday, but it still contains no descriptions of what new districts would look like. On Wednesday, the PA Supreme Court issued a 139-page-long order detailing its reasoning why the law is unconstitutional. Until this is sorted out, Congressional candidates running for election stand in limbo to see if they will still reside in the districts they have announced they are running for. In the state House, a constitutional amendment to change the number of House districts to 151 was amended to also change the size of the Senate to 38, but this is not the same measure that passed last session, so it would not be in position to go to voters for approval if it passes in its current form. On Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled his fourth budget, proposing an additional $1 billion in spending, focusing on education and job training funding. To discuss these topics and others are: Chris Comisac, Bureau Chief with Capitolwire; Steve Esack, Harrisburg Correspondent, Allentown Morning Call; and John Baer, Philadelphia Daily News Columnist. Our host is Brian Lockman.

Journalists Roundtable: February 1, 2018

Will the PA General Assembly need to pass a Congressional redistricting bill to redraw Pennsylvania’s 18 Congressional seats? Parties on both sides of the redistricting case anticipate action by the U.S. Supreme Court on a request to block the PA Supreme Court’s decision to redraw districts. They also await the full order from the PA Supreme Court detailing how districts should be redrawn. The Senate advanced a bill amending the 2011 Congressional Redistricting Act just in case. The bill contains no information about what new districts might look like, but was moved into position for a vote next week as a contingency. Also this week, Cong. Bob Brady (D-1) was the first Democrat to announce he will not run for re-election in 2018. In Harrisburg, more legislative retirements were announced, and now include six majority House chairs. The Senate also passed a bill that would require pension forfeiture for public officials and employees who commit any felony punishable by more than five years in prison. To discuss these topics and others are: R.B. Swift, staff writer with Capitolwire; Charles Thompson, State Government Reporter with PennLive and the Harrisburg Patriot-News; and Tony Romeo, Harrisburg Bureau Chief with KYW 1060 AM in Philadelphia and KDKA 1020 AM in Pittsburgh. Our host is Brian Lockman.

Journalists Roundtable: January 25, 2018

The PA Supreme Court issued an order on Jan. 22 overturning the 2011 Congressional Redistricting Act as unconstitutional. In a 5-2 ruling,  the court established a timeline for Congressional district lines to be redrawn by the General Assembly. The non-prevailing party is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay, in part due to uncertainty about whether districts could be redrawn in time for the May 15 primary. Also in the news, numerous candidates have filed for 2018 election races for governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. Senate and Congress. One of Pennsylvania’s  Congressional Districts, the 18th, is vacant. A special election will be held on March 13. Three more incumbents will step aside after this term. Congressman Pat Meehan from the 7th Congressional District is dealing with allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a female staffer.  In Harrisburg, numerous legislative retirements have been announced, and a constitutional amendment to decrease the size of the House to 151 members has cleared a House committee hurdle. If it passes, a ballot question could go to voters as soon as Nov. 6. To discuss these topics and others are: John Finnerty, Harrisburg Bureau Chief for Community Newspaper Holdings; Sam Janesch, Staff Writer with LNP; and Paul Engelkemier, Managing Editor with PoliticsPA. Our host is Brian Lockman.

Journalists Roundtable: December 14, 2017

The House and Senate were in session for the last week of the year, with much of the action coming in the House, which passed a package of budget process bills on party-line votes. They also sent to the governor a bill restricting abortions to 20 weeks gestation, which Gov. Tom Wolf vowed to veto. On the House floor, three House Democrats contested the excused absence of another Democrat, Rep. Kevin Haggerty of Lackawanna County, who has not voted on the House floor since July. Meanwhile, a constitutional amendment changing the way the lieutenant governor is selected was discussed during the same week an inspector general report came out about Lt. Gov. Mike Stack and his wife’s interactions with staff. Finally, The Caucus published a cover story on sexual misconduct in the state capitol. Our guests are: Chris Comisac, Bureau Chief with Capitolwire; Steve Esack, Harrisburg Correspondent, Allentown Morning Call; and Brad Bumsted Harrisburg Bureau Chief, The Caucus. Our host is Francine Schertzer.

Journalists Roundtable: December 7, 2017

The House was in session this week and took on a natural gas severance tax bill was for a third legislative day, a bill prohibiting the state from making payroll deductions for union wages, and a measure restricting legal abortions to 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. There was an unusual exchange between the chairs of the House State Government Committee that received national attention. One chairman complained publicly about the other chair touching his arm. A new candidate for lieutenant governor has declared her intent to run in 2018, and another received the endorsement of former Gov. Ed Rendell. Finally, court cases on partisan legislative redistricting in federal and state appellate court are being argued in December. Opponents of the current system of drawing districts contend gerrymandering has become extreme with the use of advance computer programs. Our guests are: Katie Meyer, Capitol Bureau Chief with WITF-FM; John Micek, Editorial & Opinions Page Editor with PennLive & The Patriot-News; and Liz Navratil, State Government Reporter with Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our host is Brian Lockman.

Journalists Roundtable: November 16, 2017

With the 2017 election and budget impasse in the rear view mirror, attention turns to the 2018 gubernatorial and Congressional elections, and other legislative matters before the House and Senate. The Commonwealth Finance Agency has approved borrowing $1.5 billion against revenue from the tobacco settlement, new gambling licenses are being issued, and the $200 million in proposed fund transfers from PA Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association is again being contested, as that organization has sued to maintain its existence. If they choose not to transfer the money to the General Fund, a new law disbands this medical malpractice insurer of last resort on Dec. 1. Our guests this week are: John Finnerty, Harrisburg Bureau Chief for Community Newspaper Holdings; Jason Gottesman, with MyPLS, Harrisburg Bureau Chief of The PLS Reporter; and R.B. Swift reporter with Capitolwire. Our host is Brian Lockman.

Journalists Roundtable: November 9, 2017

Statewide elections were held Tuesday to fill seven vacancies on three statewide appellate courts: one on Supreme, four on Superior and two on Commonwealth. Five Democrats and two Republicans prevailed – all of them women. Also passing was a statewide referendum to allow the General Assembly to pass a bill enabling 100 percent of the value of a homestead property to be exempt from property taxation. Those and the ramifications of other elections will be discussed. Our guests this week are: Sam Janesch, staff writer with LNP, Chris Potter, reporter with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Dave Davies, senior reporter with WHYY-FM, Philadelphia. Our host is Brian Lockman.

Journalists Roundtable: October 26, 2017

The final push to fund the $32 billion state spending plan ended Thursday morning with the passage of the final piece of the budget: a gambling expansion proposal. Video gaming terminals in truck stops, 10 satellite casinos and fantasy sports gaming will be legal in Pennsylvania. Those tracking this process –  now four months overdue – now look to the governor to see how he will react to the bills headed to his desk. Also discussed was legislation calling on the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority to be regulated by the state Public Utility Commission and the House State Government Committee held a hearing that revealed that 544 illegal votes had been cast in Pennsylvania over the last 18 years (out of 93 million votes during that time). This discovery caused former PA Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro Cortes to abruptly resign two weeks ago. Our guests this week are: Chris Comisac, Bureau Chief with Capitolwire.com; Marc Levy, with the Associated Press; and Liz Navratil, State Government Reporter with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our host is Brian Lockman.

Journalists Roundtable: October 19, 2017

The budget impasse is now in its fourth month. Budget negotiators drew  closer to a compromise this week to fund the $32 billion General Fund budget with House passage of a Tax Code bill that relies heavily on borrowing and fund transfers. The House Finance Committee met to report a Marcellus shale severance tax bill to the full House Wednesday, the bipartisan vote was largely along regional lines. Also this week, Cong. Tom Marino withdrew his name from consideration as federal drug czar after investigative reports detailed his acceptance of campaign donations from drug companies and his sponsorship of a bill, now law, that affects the Drug Enforcement Agency’s ability to regulate opioids. Our guests this week are: Angela Couloumbis, State Government Reporter with the Philadelphia Inquirer; Steve Esack, Harrisburg Correspondent with the Allentown Morning Call, and John Finnerty, Harrisburg Bureau Chief for CNHI, which owns several Pennsylvania newspapers. Our host is Brian Lockman.

Journalists Roundtable: October 5, 2017

After a week of proposals and counter-proposals to find a revenue plan that can gain the support of 102 House members, the House is still wrangling over which taxes and fund transfers it can pass to support the spending plan enacted on June 30. The governor held a press conference Wednesday expressing frustration with the stalemate and outlining a plan to securitize the state’s liquor revenue to tide the state over economically until the budget process is finished. Also coming to a head this week was a scandal involving pro-life Congressman Tim Murphy (R-18), who said he is not running for re-election in 2018 after asking the woman he had an affair with to have an abortion. To discuss this and other news are guests: Jan Murphy, Education and State Government Reporter with the Harrisburg Patriot-News & PennLive; Katie Meyer, Capitol Bureau Chief with WITF-FM; and Brad Bumsted, Harrisburg Bureau Chief with The Caucus, a publication of LNP. Our host this week is Larry Kaspar.