Pa. Pressroom is a regular recap of politics in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. To submit tips and news leads, contact the USA TODAY Network's Pennsylvania state capital bureau reporter Bruce Siwy at [email protected] or on Twitter at @BruceSiwy.
An all-but-inked spending plan, despite the grumbling, awaits in Harrisburg.
A bipartisan 117-86 vote in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives July 7 brought a $45.5 billion budget approved by the Republican-held Senate one step closer to reality. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro pledged to veto the $100 million Pennsylvania Award for Student Success line item after signing this deal — causing an uproar among many GOP legislators who'd pushed for the private school voucher program.
Here's a look at five things to know about the uneasy framework that awaits completion.
1: The plan spends roughly what Shapiro had originally requested. Though expenses are $300 million less than Shapiro's budget, it still comes out to a year-over-year increase of about 6%. Republicans say this represents a structural deficit (tax collections increased by just 3% from last fiscal year), but the spending increase is still significantly less than the 14% hike requested by House Democrats.
2: Public education receives a $714 million boost. The increase comes against the backdrop of a historic Commonwealth Court ruling earlier this year. In siding with the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools and the NAACP, Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer said...
Who: Plaintiff Tracy Sulli filed a class action lawsuit against Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. Why: Sulli claims Keurig Dr Pepper falsely advertises its K-Cup pods as recyclable. Where: The Keurig clas...