News & Brews May 13, 2025
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Pa. Supreme Court to hear RGGI arguments today
This morning, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case challenging Gov. Shapiro’s (and former Gov. Wolf’s) attempt to unilaterally force Pennsylvania into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). As State Court Report (a project of the Brennan Center) explains, a lower court ruled against the forced entry, saying RGGI amounts to a tax. “Because the Pennsylvania Constitution permits only the legislature to levy taxes, the lower court ruled, the governor’s entry into the program by executive rulemaking, without legislative approval, was an overstep.” Oral arguments will be live streamed here. And click here for more info on how terrible RGGI is.
U.S. House Republicans propose national school choice program
The AP reports that Republicans in Congress have proposed including $5 billion in the budget reconciliation bill for a national school choice program. The proposal would “provid[e] families nationwide the option to give their children an education different from the one offered in their local public school. Nearly all households would qualify except those making more than three times the local median income.” The typical enemies of educational opportunity oppose the proposal, of course. As for funding, “The program would be funded by donors who could contribute money or stock. In turn, they would receive 100% of the contribution back in the form of a discount on their tax bills.”
Pa. House to take up voter ID – sort of
The Inquirer reports, “After years of opposing such a measure, Pennsylvania Democrats are poised on Tuesday to allow a vote in the state House on a bill that, if passed, would create new ID requirements to vote in the commonwealth, alongside long-sought election law reforms.” But the ID requirement in question is extremely loose. Voters would have to show ID (which could include a utility bill), but if they don’t have ID, voters “would have the option to sign an affidavit attesting to their identity or ask a friend or relative to sign paperwork vouching for them.” Let’s see, can a friend vouch for you when going through airport security? Or buying liquor? Cigarettes?
Penn State proposes closing seven campuses
The Inquirer reports that while the university’s Board of Trustees has not yet voted on the closures, Penn State’s administration is proposing shuttering seven of its 20 campuses. Reportedly, the proposal would close DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York. Together, these campuses “enrolled nearly 3,200 students as of the fall semester and experienced enrollment declines over the last five years ranging from 15% at York to 32% at DuBois….” (Separately, the Post-Gazette reports that school officials “declined to confirm” the list.)
The ‘smearing’ and ‘courting’ of Fetterman
A new op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled “The smearing of John Fetterman” argues that Sen. Fetterman “does indeed suffer from a debilitating illness.” But it’s not what the media or anonymous former staffers say it is. Instead, he suffers from “sudden onset political moderation.” And, “In an era of increasing ideological polarization, consensus-seeking moderates aren’t positive examples to emulate, but sell-outs to be destroyed.” Separately, as Fetterman is under scrutiny, the Inquirer reports that the conservative Club for Growth is courting the senator, running an ad that “praises” Fetterman for “standing up” for working families “and then urges Pennsylvanians to ask him to back the GOP-supported Trump tax cuts.” Fetterman has already indicated that he opposes the tax cuts.