News & Brews February 13, 2025
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Shapiro’s rosy marijuana projections don’t add up
Gov. Shapiro has once again proposed legalizing (and taxing) recreational marijuana to bring in revenue. But the Inquirer reports that his revenue “estimates outpace what surrounding states have made off cannabis sales, and he’s proposing a sales tax rate of 20%, which is double that of most of Pennsylvania’s neighbors.” What’s more, this year, his “estimates of how much revenue the recreational marijuana industry would bring to Pennsylvania increased by more than 3,000% from his budget pitch last year, where he estimated the state would bring in $14.8 million in the first year of legalizing cannabis. Shapiro now predicts the state will bring in $535.6 million in its first year of legalization.”
Soros-backed DA won’t enforce immigration law
Another Pennsylvania district attorney backed by George Soros has announced he will not uphold federal immigration law. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer recently posted, “I am directing that CID (Criminal Investigation Division) staff are not to work with immigration officials to target for enforcement actions individuals not legally in our country but also not committing criminal acts.” The Delaware Valley Journal reports that there are “potential legal risks” to Stollsteimer’s stance. “On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a lawsuit against New York officials for shielding illegal aliens by refusing to follow the law.” Additionally, Stollsteimer’s position “runs counter to national polling showing widespread support for more enforcement of immigration laws.” Philly DA Larry Krasner has taken a position similar to Stollsteimer.
Pa. lawmakers want state workers back in office full-time
ABC27 reports that two years ago, Gov. Shapiro ordered state workers back to the office at least three days per week, but some lawmakers want taxpayer-funded workers back in the office full-time. GOP Sen. Dave Argall (Carbon, Luzerne, and Schuylkill counties) said when he once visited a cabinet secretary, “I think he was the only one in the building.” Per the Pa. Office of Administration, 65% of workers do no telework, 33% have some remote work, and 2% telework full time. GOP Sen. Chris Gebhard (Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties) added that it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars to pay for buildings without workers.
State budget hearings kick off next week
On Tuesday, Pa. House and Senate appropriations committees will launch three weeks of hearings on Gov. Shapiro’s proposed $51.5 billion budget (which indulges a $3.9 billion spending increase over the current year). Capitolwire reports (paywall) that “members of the appropriations panels will ask questions of cabinet secretaries, agency heads and officials from institutions receiving state funding. It’s an opportunity for the legislative branch to obtain information from the executive branch about the operation of programs, how priorities are set and the details of specific funding requests in the governor’s budget.” Click here for the schedule of hearings.
As new DNC vice-chair, Pa. Dem doubles down on losing message
One of the mistaken conclusions in analyzing last year’s election results is that Democrats had a good message but just didn’t tell it well enough. In reality, Dems told their far-left message super well, and most Americans just rejected it. Now, as one of the new Democratic National Committee vice chairs, progressive Pa. state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia is embracing the same fallacy. Commenting on why most registered voters have an unfavorable view of the Democrat party, Kenyatta said, “I think a part of it is, Democrats, first of all, have to change the way that we tell our own story about who we are…. we have to be aggressive about communicating to the American people what we have done and what we stand for….” Of course, we all saw what Dems stand for: Open borders, men in women’s sports, and rampant spending on ridiculous things.