Journalists Roundtable: October 31, 2019

Journalists Roundtable visited the Scranton Times-Tribune this week. Seven mayoral candidates are on the Nov. 5 municipal general election ballot, including five independents, two of whom switched party affiliation from Democratic to Independent. They are running in a special election to become the next mayor of Scranton to fill the two years remaining on the […]

Journalists Roundtable: October 24, 2019

Reporting this week by Spotlight PA and The Caucus detailed how campaign funds are spent for dinners, trips and bar tabs by some of the General Assembly’s most powerful politicians, and in some cases by legislative employees using campaign credit cards. An Election Code bill to expand voting options was amended after the story broke […]

Journalists Roundtable: September 26, 2019

The House and Senate were in session this week, with both chambers either voting on or holding hearings on gun rights and mental health legislation. The House Judiciary Committee voted out a couple bills, but did not address the extreme risk protection order (ERPO) proposal. The House debated and narrowly passed a bill creating the […]

Journalists Roundtable: September 19, 2019

House members were back in Harrisburg this week, and a number of press conferences and committee hearings made the news, ranging from charter schools, gun laws, economic development, redistricting and election laws, and Sunday hunting. Also, a state senator resigned this week after being arrested due to allegations he had child pornography on his cell […]

Journalists Roundtable: June 20, 2019

The General Assembly has 10 days until the budget deadline, and many of the pieces of the budget puzzle are being put in place with a goal to enact the budget next week. Tom Wolf vetoed a proposal to expand the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program by $100 million to $210 million. The program reimburses […]

Journalists Roundtable: June 6, 2019

The General Assembly has four weeks to pass a balanced budget, and discuss legislation before a 10-week summer break. Besides the budget, these issues were hot this week: minimum wage; Election Code updates and voting machine upgrades; infrastructure funding, including rural broadband access, and regulation of games of skill.  This week’s guests are: John Finnerty, […]

Journalists Roundtable: May 23, 2019

Pennsylvania’s primary election was held on Tuesday, May 21. Democrats and Republicans chose two of three candidates running for two open judicial seats on Superior Court, a statewide intermediate appellate court. The four winners will face off in November. Four special elections for Congress, state Senate and state House were won by Republicans. The 12th […]

Journalists Roundtable: May 16, 2019

A bill banning abortions after a Down’s syndrome diagnosis passed the House after a long debate this week. A gun rights rally was held recently in the wake of Pittsburgh passing a gun ordinance that is stricter than state law. Will infrastructure funding or education improvement tax credits be part of the budget negotiations? Attorney […]

Journalists Roundtable: May 16, 2019

We’re about six weeks from the budget deadline, with revenue collections ahead of estimates by $828 million, enticing Republicans to call for deposits in the state’s Rainy Day Fund. A bill banning abortions after a Down’s syndrome diagnosis passed the House after a long debate this week. Viral comments posted on social media by House […]

Journalists Roundtable: May 9, 2019

Journalists Roundtable comes to you from Philadelphia This week to discuss the mayoral primary which features a first-term candidate against two prominent city politicians in the Democratic Primary. Other issues discussed included the Philadelphia sugary beverages tax, the tax abatement program and funding for Philadelphia schools. This week’s guests are: Denise Clay, a political columnist […]