News & Brews June 30, 2022
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No budget by deadline
The Post-Gazette reports, “Pennsylvania’s budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year won’t be complete on time for its June 30 deadline, and lawmakers plan to stay through the Fourth of July weekend.” Meanwhile, PennLive gives a more detailed rundown of the negotiations and what each side is placing on the table. The story notes, “About the overall package, Thursday was a day of continuing negotiations on Pennsylvania Holy Grails like a reduction in the state’s 9.99 percent corporate net income – long scene as a drag on business location and job growth in the commonwealth – and seeing how high Gov. Tom Wolf and his Democratic allies can push new investment in public schools.”
Senate passes Fairness in Women’s Sports Act; Wolf to veto
Yesterday, by a 30-20 vote, the Senate passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which would ensure women are not forced to compete against biological males on school sports teams. The measure, which the House previously passed, now heads to Gov. Wolf, who has pledged to veto it.
Senate votes to protect children from exposure to sexually explicit materials in schools
Yesterday, the state Senate voted to “require schools to identify sexually explicit content in school curriculum and materials and notify parents that their child’s coursework includes such content,” and to “prohibit classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students, consistent with the timeline for when the existing academic standards on general sex education begins in sixth grade.” Democrats opposed the measures, with the exception of Sen. Lisa Boscola (Lehigh and Northampton counties), who voted in favor of the first bill.
Does Oz face image crisis heading into general election?
The Inquirer posits that GOP U.S. Senate nominee Mehmet Oz may have trouble winning over many voters in his own party given the beating he took during the primary, when nearly 70% of GOP primary voters voted for someone else. Not everyone agrees, however, with one pollster saying that opposition to Democrats will be enough to unify Republicans behind Oz.
Op-Ed: Pennsylvanians ‘reaping millions’ in natural gas benefits
David Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, writes in PennLive, “This year, counties, municipalities and statewide environmental programs will share in more than $234 million of revenue generated from natural gas development activity, with practically every Pennsylvanian benefiting from the windfall.” This is the second highest amount on record, and of it, “$129 million will benefit counties and municipalities and more than $100 million will fund critical statewide programs. At the state level, hundreds of millions of dollars have funded at-risk bridges, water and sewer upgrades, hazardous waste clean-up, and watershed protections, to name a few.” Read his piece here.