On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Brad Christman and Matt Paul recap a shocking week in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. Also, a new transportation funding plan surfaces in Harrisburg and the NRA takes over the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show just as it leads the effort to defeat expanded background checks at […]
It’s not the first time someone in Harrisburg has called for abolishing the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, but this plan comes on the heels of a grand jury corruption indictment. House Bill 1197 would transfer all Turnpike operations to PennDOT. A new Bureau of Toll Administration would be created, with a deputy secretary to oversee it. […]
Lawmakers are mulling possible changes to the mandatory retirement age for the state’s judges, and a House Judiciary subcommittee heard from all sides of the issue on Thursday. The focus of the hearing was HB 79, which would change the constitutional age limit on PA judges from 70 to 75. The current judicial age restriction […]
54-senators voted in favor of the bipartisan background check amendment; 46 opposed it. That’s short of the 60-vote threshold required to advance the measure, which was the work of Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin. You can read the entire statements released by Sen. Toomey and the NRA’s Chris W. Cox […]
A trio of good government bills went before the state Senate, Wednesday, and all three were approved unanimously. The highest-profile measure would allow for online voter registration, making Pennsylvania the 17th state to offer the option. “For the health of democracy, elections should be run as smoothly as possible,” ACLU of Pennsylvania legislative director Andy […]
A newly proposed transportation funding package uses Governor Tom Corbett’s plan as a baseline, then goes even further. In February, Governor Corbett outlined a plan that would raise $1.8-billion dollars annually by year five. Tuesday, Senate Transportation Chairman John Rafferty unveiled legislation that would generate $2.5-billion by year three. Both proposals would uncap the Oil […]
In rolling audits of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale says they’ve found that Pennsylvania is owed more than 40 million in underpaid corporate taxes. At the same time, the state owes businesses over 5 million from over payments. DePasquale says it’s not a new problem. The audits have been finding a […]
With a public hearing on liquor privatization now scheduled in the state Senate, a group of state House members is calling for the upfront windfall from the sale of private wine and liquor licenses to be invested in transportation infrastructure. “It takes each and every dollar from privatization of the wine & spirits shops, and […]
Although slot machine revenue declined last month at Pennsylvania’s casinos, table games posted a healthy month. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board says table games generated the highest monthly amount to date in March, 9% higher than the same month last year. Last March had set the previous record for table games revenue. The increase helped […]
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has been tracking a decade-long decline in the number of Pennsylvania residents who receive health insurance through their jobs. Back in 2001 78% of Pennsylvania residents received health insurance via their employers. In 2011; 67%. A new report indicates the reduction is due to a combination of fewer employers offering […]