Advocates of skill games rallied at the Pennsylvania Capitol on Tuesday in support of legislation that would regulate the industry, removing them from a legal gray area outside of the state's gambling law. Supporters emphasized the importance of skill games for Pennsylvania businesses and veterans groups, along with the potential tax revenues that would follow regulation. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support...
Apr 28, 2023•5 min•Ep. 119
In a Monday hearing, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee was warned of the lurking taxpayer cost for plugging orphaned and abandoned wells. While current policy caps bonds on conventional oil and gas wells at $2,500, the actual cost of plugging an abandoned one is much higher – $30,000 or more. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support...
Apr 27, 2023•5 min•Ep. 118
Pennsylvania lawmakers sent two identical constitutional amendments back to the chamber floor on Tuesday for future consideration. The do-over comes six weeks after the chamber referred the amendments back to the Judiciary Committee for a public hearing, in adherence to new policies adopted after a months-long gridlock provoked a review of operating rules. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support...
Apr 22, 2023•6 min•Ep. 117
Mass transit in Pennsylvania nears a financial crossroads in the coming year, and either way, residents will pay the price. After federal pandemic aid ends in 2024, SEPTA – one of the nation's largest public transportation systems that serves Philadelphia and its nearby suburbs – will face a $240 million deficit, leaving no option but to raise fares and cut services. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support...
Apr 21, 2023•7 min•Ep. 116
Advocates say medication-assisted treatment best prevents overdoses, but awareness and support still lag. The situation means residents dealing with substance abuse disorders can’t access a “crucial” tool for recovery, said Fred Way, founder and executive director of the Pennsylvania Alliance of Recovery Residences. More than 5,300 people in Pennsylvania died from an overdose in 2021 – the third highest rate in the nation, as The Center Square previously reported. Support this podcast: https://p...
Apr 20, 2023•5 min•Ep. 115
Research shows more than a third of college students drop out of school because they can’t afford food and don’t qualify for – or even know about – public assistance, leaving them stuck in a hunger “gap” that elected officials want to fill. State Rep. Abigail Salisbury, D-Braddock, told the Department of Human Services on Tuesday she hopes the governor’s administration will support policies that keep low-income college students fed – just as it does for public school children. Support this podca...
Apr 15, 2023•5 min•Ep. 114
Though one state agency has refused to greenlight natural gas development on its lands, another one has — and reaped a significant windfall from doing so. The Pennsylvania Game Commission – since approving natural gas development a dozen years ago on just one-eighth of the 1.6 million acres it manages – has collected nearly $900 million in revenue to support infrastructure upgrades, land preservation and outdoor recreation. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvan...
Apr 14, 2023•8 min•Ep. 113
More oversight for the gambling industry could be coming to Pennsylvania, this time focused on skill games. A proposed regulation would centralize a monitoring and control system and create a tax structure that could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to state coffers, advocates say. Skill games look like slot machines, but are games of skill where gamblers can affect the outcome, as opposed to games of chance like slot machines. They aren’t subject to the commonwealth’s gambling law nor t...
Apr 13, 2023•6 min•Ep. 112
Local officials have long complained of PennDOT ignoring their concerns. Now, a state lawmaker wants to create a database to track how quickly the Department of Transportation responds to municipal leaders, and how – or if – they resolved the problem. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support
Apr 08, 2023•5 min•Ep. 111
The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio was just the latest of a number of environmental disasters to hit Pennsylvania. Disasters, leaks, and pollution have damaged the natural landscape across the commonwealth, and Pennsylvania residents pay for the consequences through their health and tax dollars. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support...
Apr 07, 2023•5 min•Ep. 110
Halfway through the state’s annual budget talks, the governor’s administration appears unified around a single strategy: spend money to make money. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support
Apr 06, 2023•5 min•Ep. 109
Proposed cuts to Pennsylvania’s support for several chronic diseases may not be all that they seem, budget records show. The Department of Health faced criticism Tuesday during a hearing with the House Appropriations Committee over a proposed 40% funding reduction for programs that serve ALS patients and their families. The department historically earmarks millions in support of diseases that include AIDS, ALS, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, Lyme disease, cystic fibrosis and leukemia, among oth...
Apr 01, 2023•6 min•Ep. 108
Child care workers and advocates warned lawmakers that Pennsylvania faces a major shortage of workers and a lack of funding during a Wednesday committee hearing. Workers are leaving for better-paying and less-stressful jobs at grocery stores and in the fast-food business, and hundreds of child care options have disappeared since the pandemic. “As families return to work, we need to make sure that child care is available for those families and that that child care is affordable,” said Rep. Donna ...
Mar 31, 2023•5 min•Ep. 107
A months-long backlog of unemployment claims still haunts the Department of Labor and Industry, and top officials told the Senate Appropriations Committee that more money could help them catch up. In Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget, the department would see an 11% funding increase, about $90 million. Nancy Walker, the department's acting secretary, said the additional dollars will pay for more staff to clear a backlog of more than 35,000 claims. “Our first priority was to look at (unemployme...
Mar 30, 2023•5 min•Ep. 106
As the University of Pittsburgh prepares for a trio of events on transgender issues, thousands of students have demanded that administrators cancel them. State-level lawmakers have joined in the call as well. Free-speech advocates, however, warn that doing so harms freedom of expression and threatens the university as a place for open debate. One of the events that some students oppose will also include a transgender speaker. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylv...
Mar 25, 2023•8 min•Ep. 105
More than a month after the East Palestine train derailment and Norfolk Southern’s decision to burn vinyl chloride from five tanker cars, Pennsylvania residents want more information — and more attention from state leaders. In western Pennsylvania – a few miles from East Palestine, Ohio – residents spoke of the need for independent analysis and expanding the testing area to ensure water and soil quality. They also want a more proactive approach from the many state and federal alphabet agencies i...
Mar 24, 2023•7 min•Ep. 104
Two of Pennsylvania’s most respected economic analysts offered muddy expectations of future revenue estimates on Monday. Acting Revenue Secretary Pat Browne sat before the Senate Appropriations Committee – on which he served as majority chairman for nearly a decade before joining Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration – to discuss how to spend the $50 billion in the state’s bank account at the end of the fiscal year on June 30. The total, including $42.2 billion in recurring revenues and $5.7 billio...
Mar 23, 2023•6 min•Ep. 103
As Pennsylvania officials discuss an electric vehicle fee to replace the gas tax, federal funds are available to build out the EV charging infrastructure in the commonwealth. On Monday, PennDOT announced its first round of funding will open on March 27 and close May 5 for EV stations across Pennsylvania. The money will flow through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure grant program, with $25 million available for fiscal year 2022 and $37 million for fiscal year 2023, according to a news ...
Mar 18, 2023•5 min•Ep. 102
Consensus continues building in the General Assembly as lawmakers embrace expansion of the state’s child care tax credit. What exactly an expansion looks like remains to be seen, though Gov. Josh Shapiro, Senate Republicans and House Democrats – who play key roles in negotiating the state’s budget – agree more must be done. “We have reached the point where this is no longer an issue for families, but an issue for employers across the commonwealth,” Nicole Reigelman, spokeswoman for House Democra...
Mar 17, 2023•4 min•Ep. 101
Farmers in western Pennsylvania began offering their soil samples for collection in recent weeks after contamination concerns about the train derailment in nearby East Palestine, Ohio went unaddressed. Cliff Wallace, president of the Beaver-Lawrence Farm Bureau, told The Center Square on Tuesday he’s spoken with property owners seven miles out from the burn site who say they saw plumes of smoke drifting over their land in the aftermath of the crash. Wallace, who taught agriculture classes in the...
Mar 16, 2023•6 min•Ep. 100
Gov. Josh Shapiro has recreational cannabis on his mind, though legalization advocates worry the tax rate could be too high. Details remain scant, but the governor’s proposed budget includes an adult-use cannabis tax in the form of a 20% wholesale tax, assuming that sales would begin in January 2025. The commonwealth would then realize revenues starting in fiscal year 2024-25. The budget estimates that Pennsylvania would harvest $16 million in 2024-25, growing to $189 million annually by 2027-28...
Mar 11, 2023•5 min•Ep. 99
Plugging more abandoned oil and gas wells has become a bigger priority on the state and federal level, but some advocates say this isn't the most cost effective solution. When more strings get attached to funding, costs rise for projects that are already expensive, said The Well Done Foundation. Political considerations to show that something gets done also complicate matters. “Every well is absolutely, 100% different — and I’m talking about wells that are located 660 feet away from each other i...
Mar 10, 2023•7 min•Ep. 98
Gov. Josh Shapiro made the case for his proposed budget on Tuesday, claiming only a modest spending increase while boosting business growth, funding for public education, and the commonwealth’s safety net. Shapiro also singled out tax incentives for teachers, health care workers, and police, and doing more to lure major business expansion deals to Pennsylvania like some neighboring states. “This budget is packed with common-sense solutions to the problems that the people of Pennsylvanian face ev...
Mar 09, 2023•7 min•Ep. 97
Senate Republicans emphasized family-friendly policies and economic growth as they described their agenda for the legislative session on Wednesday. How much agreement and compromise that will come from a Democratic-controlled House and governor’s mansion, though, remains to be seen. Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith and Reporter Anthony Hennen. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out ...
Mar 05, 2023•7 min•Ep. 96
Joanna McClinton took a step into history on Tuesday, elected speaker of Pennsylvania's House of Representatives. She is the first Black woman to hold the position. It opened when Democrat Mark Rozzi resigned earlier in the day, and the chamber followed with a 102-99 vote for the District 191 representative over Republican Rep. Carl Metzgar. Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith and Reporter Anthony Hennen. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America in Focus: A weekly fea...
Mar 04, 2023•7 min•Ep. 95
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania became the first to subpoena Norfolk Southern over its handling of the train derailment in nearby East Palestine, Ohio. The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee voted on Wednesday to invoke the privilege one month after more than 50 train cars jumped the track following a mechanical failure, a preliminary federal inquiry shows. Join The Center Square's Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith and Reporter Anthony Hennen. --- Listen to Other ATN Product...
Mar 03, 2023•4 min•Ep. 94
A comparison of tax levels of the 50 states shows residents in Pennsylvania still pay more than most other Americans. In a yearly comparison carried out by the Independent Fiscal Office, Pennsylvania is above-average with its tax burden. The tax burden is different from overall tax rates: it is measured as a ratio of revenues collected by a tax to levels of personal income. The focus is on how much revenue a tax brings to the state, rather than the tax rate set by the law. Join The Center Square...
Feb 25, 2023•5 min•Ep. 93
At the first public hearing hosted by the Pennsylvania Senate about the Norfolk Southern train derailment in nearby East Palestine, Ohio, affected residents expressed their anger, their fear, their frustration — and their utter disappointment in state officials who have a duty to keep them safe. Held by the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, Pennsylvanians living near East Palestine told lawmakers of the health effects they and their families have so far experienced. T...
Feb 24, 2023•7 min•Ep. 92
A special Pennsylvania House panel wasted no time Tuesday approving two alternative pathways toward civil retribution for adult survivors of child sexual abuse. But the offers fall well short of adequate, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, told The Center Square – a comment that appears to foreshadow the long fight ahead. Join The Center Square's Christen Smith and Anthony Hennen on this episode of Pennsylvania in Focus. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America in Focus: A weekly...
Feb 23, 2023•6 min•Ep. 91
Join The Center Square's Managing Editor Alan Wooten and Pennsylvania Editor Christen Smith as they discuss state and local leaders said Tuesday that Norfolk Southern’s response to a train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border ignored best practices and prioritized speed over safety. Commonwealth Court declared Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional recently and, as such, diametrically opposed education advocates all proclaimed victory. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: ...
Feb 17, 2023•23 min•Ep. 90
