News & Brews January 5 2022

Get ready! From 7-8:30 pm tonight, GOP candidates for governor will square off in their first debate, which will be held at Dickinson College in Carlisle and will air on PCNTV. Meanwhile, the gubernatorial field keeps growing. On Monday evening, former U.S. Congresswoman Melissa Hart formally announced her candidacy for governor, becoming the only woman in the crowded GOP primary field. Separately, Clarice Schillinger, who founded Back to School PA, announced she’s running for lieutenant governor. Watch her announcement here.

The progressive Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that Gov. Wolf “used state grant funding as leverage” to get lawmakers to back his plan to unilaterally join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The piece notes that on the record, no Democrats would say as much (of course). “But privately, lawmakers and lobbyists noted that the Democratic Wolf administration implied that gubernatorial sign-off for millions in state aid to lawmakers’ districts was contingent on backing … RGGI.”

The AP reports that as Gov. Wolf enters his final year in office—and his last budget season—”Pennsylvania is sitting on a fat budget reserve, a healthy and growing surplus, and billions in unspent federal coronavirus relief cash.” Here’s a thought: How about some tax cuts? Or maybe a budget that actually includes the annual overspending by the Wolf administration so it doesn’t come as a ‘surprise.’ Oh, the opportunities!

Each year, U-Haul releases a report that calculates growth states “by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state in a calendar year.” For 2021, PA ranked 48th in the nation for U-Haul one-way migration—or, put differently, we had the third largest net-loss in one-way U-Haul trucks. The only states that were worse were Illinois and California. Our 48th-place ranking was a drop from 41st place in 2020. The top three states for growth were Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. Are we seeing a theme here? Check out full the list.

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (Butler County), who has served in the state House since 1999, announced yesterday that he will not seek re-election this year. “I am thankful to the voters who trusted me to represent them in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,” Metcalfe stated. “I am honored by the broad and deep base of support from citizens across the state who supported my work to limit government, protect taxpayers and defend liberty.”