Archive
PA: Romney tells voters he’ll boost national economy
PA Week in Review: Budget, privatization plans stalling
Unemployment remains flat from April
By Staff Reports | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — A busy week at the Pennsylvania statehouse started off with a late night, when House lawmakers stayed until 10:30 p.m. Monday debating the pros and cons
PA: More than $520M in Medicare, Medicaid fees went to potentially avoidable hospital stays
Report: 1 in 8 hospital stays could've been prevented
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Of the nearly 185,000 Pennsylvanians who underwent hospital stays that could have been prevented in 2010, taxpayer-supported programs paid for about 83,000 … Read the rest
PA ANALYSIS: Proposed pension fixes only part of the solution
Unfunded liability has to be paid off no matter what changes are made for future employees
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Fixing Pennsylvania’s public pension system will require more than creating a new plan for future … Read the rest
PA: Romney campaign makes three stops in commonwealth
Stops include manufacturing sites, gas station
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney is taking his campaign to Pennsylvania on Saturday.… Read the rest
PA: Liquor privatization vote postponed until Monday, maybe longer
Unions, special interests versus 70 percent of Pennsylvanians
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Don't touch that bottle.
It belongs to Pennsylvania, at least for now.
Richard Granger, clad in a bright yellow shirt, is … Read the rest
PA: GOP leaders blow unofficial deadline as budget talks continue
Unofficial deadline of June 13 officially blown
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — When budget negotiations began in earnest late May, Republican House and Senate lawmakers pointed to June 13 as their deadline for getting the … Read the rest
PA: House passes updates to Wiretap Act
Lawmakers on the left and right voice opposition
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — A bill that would update the state’s wiretap law has some wondering if Pennsylvania is helping its law enforcement agencies track criminals … Read the rest
PA: Fiscal Office sets final parameters for budget battle
Confirms previous estimate of $27.5B in revenue
By Jared Sichel | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office confirmed its revenue estimates for the current budget year at $27.54 billion, setting the playing field for the … Read the rest
PA: GOP pension plan would give incentive for current workers to leave state system
All new employees would be forced into 401(k)-style system
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — A group of Republican lawmakers want to move all future state employees into a new pension system as a way to … Read the rest
PA: Corbett says unemployment reform equals more jobs
Governor signs bill to refinance federal debt
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett signed a bill into law Tuesday that will let the commonwealth pay off nearly $4 billion in federal debt.… Read the rest
PA: Voter poll shows Corbett disapproval rating grew
Poll shows downward trend
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett hit an all-time low this week.… Read the rest
PA: Property tax elimination bill tabled in committee
Vote shows divides among parties
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — In 60 seconds, about 13 hours of committee debate and marathon public discussion ended with a whimper when lawmakers tabled Property Tax Independence Act on Monday.… Read the rest
PA: Economic development program gets new name, stricter rules
Administration undertaking changes without legislation
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania government’s best-known economic development tool has a new name but the same old purpose — funneling taxpayer dollars to private developers.… Read the rest
PA: Tax credit school choice plan may replace vouchers
School choice plan prepared in House GOP caucus
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania lawmakers are planning for a final push that could give about 30,000 students a way out of … Read the rest
PA: New district maps moving to Supreme Court
Plans show reduction of county, municipal splits
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania voters are closer to learning who they can vote for.… Read the rest
Week in Review: PA unemployment fix, property tax plans push forward
Lawmaker seek to fix unemployment fund
By Staff Reports | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — This week, as Pennsylvania legislators and the governor's office continued to work on budget talks, a number of issues were pushed forward on and off … Read the rest
PA to borrow $4.5B to pay off fed unemployment debt, change eligibility
Payoff helps employers save
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania plans to borrow a $4.5 billion bond to help pay off debt from the federal Unemployment Trust Fund, which stands about $3.9 billion, the third highest in the … Read the rest
School supporters push for funding as PA lawmakers negotiate
Upper Darby group protests at Capitol
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Applause interrupted from Upper Darby School District parents, students and supporters when state Rep. Nick Micozzie said the House restored some education funding. … Read the rest
PA block grant plan: Step toward efficiency or burden to services
Program comes with potential service cuts
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — A plan to streamline the distribution of grant money for health services in Pennsylvania makes sense to some officials as a step toward efficiency, but others … Read the rest