Pennsylvania’s prison population increased by 40% between 2000 and 2011, driving General Fund spending up by 76% over that same time. State prisons currently house more than 51,000 inmates, and nearly 45% of those released will be back behind bars within three years. These were just a few of the trends confronted by the “Justice […]
The state’s current budget was enacted with zero Democratic support last year. This year may not be much different if Wednesday’s House Appropriations Committee meeting is any indication. After two hours of debate, the committee advanced the $27.7-billion dollar spending plan along party lines. The spend number may be almost 2% above this current budget, […]
Surrounded by a bipartisan group of county commissioners this week, Governor Tom Corbett called on lawmakers to pass his proposed Human Service Block Grant to replace current state funding in seven human service areas. State Senate Republicans released details Tuesday of a proposed 27.7 billion dollar budget for the next fiscal year, and it did […]
Under current law teachers are “mandated reporters” of child abuse, but state Senator Pat Vance (R-Cumberland) says only 15% of school districts provide any kind of training to help them recognize it. Vance is the prime sponsor legislation that will require school employees, who have direct contact with children, to receive at least three hours […]
Potential education reforms are being debated under the capitol dome ahead of Saturday’s state budget deadline. One of them would expand the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program with a sub-program that targets low-income families in the state’s worst performing schools. It was characterized at Monday’s House Education Committee hearing as “EITC 2.0.” While […]
Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week. Professionally produced and delivered every Friday, Roundtable includes commercial breaks for local sale and quarterly reports for affiliate files. Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast: [audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable06-22-12.mp3]
Governor Tom Corbett has repeatedly said that June 30th means something to him. With Wednesday night’s announcement that he and top Republican lawmakers have agreed to a $27.656-billion dollar budget framework, it appears that Pennsylvania is on pace to meet a second consecutive budget deadline. Neither Corbett nor the legislative leaders were willing to discuss […]
With the June 30th budget deadline fast approaching, House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) has decided to hold off on further liquor store privatization debate until the fall. That gives Turzai the summer to build consensus around a privatization plan with the help of Governor Tom Corbett. “Nobody in Pennsylvania has a better bully pulpit […]
Wisconsin is the only state with a fully-funded public pension system, according to a new report from the Pew Center on the States. “Overall the 50-states have a $1.38-trillion dollar funding gap between what they should have set aside to pay for their retirement promises – both pensions and retiree health care – and what […]
May was a good month for table games overall in Pennsylvania, but the numbers were helped by the newest casino. The state Gaming Control Board is reporting a 7.4% increase in table games revenue for May. There were 140 new tables operating compared to May of last year, and 50 of them at the newest […]