News & Brews March 18, 2026
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Republicans win special elections
GOP candidates won a pair of special elections yesterday for seats formerly held by GOP members. In the 79th House District in Blair County, Andrea Verobishdefeated Caleb McCoy 58% to 42% per unofficial results. And in the 193rd House District in Adams and Cumberland counties, Catherine Wallen defeated Todd Crawley 60% to 40%, also per unofficial results.
Pa. Senate passes AI chatbot regulations
The state Senate voted 49-1 yesterday for legislation sponsored by GOP Sen. Tracy Pennycuick that “would require artificial intelligence chatbots that could otherwise be mistaken for real people to have disclosures identifying that users are interacting with AI and not a person,” WGAL reports. Further, if the chatbot is interacting with a minor, the legislation would require “disclosure that a child or teen is not interacting with a human, notifications every three hours of use that the chatbot is not a human and a suggestion that the user take a break from using it, [and] safeguards against producing sexually explicit conduct or material or instructions regarding that type of behavior.” The only ‘no’ vote was from Sen. Doug Mastriano.
This is how it’s done
Bowing to teachers’ unions, Kentucky’s Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear recently vetoed legislation to opt his state into the new federal tax credit scholarship program. Now, it’s important to note that even with a veto, folks in Kentucky could still donate to scholarship groups and get a tax credit, but Kentucky kids would be blocked from benefiting from the educational choice provided by the program. Well, yesterday, the Kentucky legislature voted overwhelmingly to override Beshear’s veto. In the House, the vote was 77-14, while in the Senate, the vote was 31-5. This is how it’s done. This makes 28 states so far that are opting into the program. Still not on the list: Pennsylvania.
Op-Ed: Shapiro, give Pa. kids access to scholarships
Meanwhile here in Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Foundation President and CEO Andrew Lewis writes in the Philadelphia Citizen that “despite all the valid reasons to opt in [to the federal tax-credit scholarship program], Governor Shapiro is stalling. In an email, the governor conveyed his ‘plan’ to await ‘federal guidance to address key questions about how this program would work.’” Lewis writes, “But Shapiro shouldn’t wait too long. Even as federal regulators finalize the [program], he should, at a minimum, submit his intent to opt in to the federal government, removing uncertainty and allowing schools, scholarship organizations, and parents to prepare for the new program.”
Dem lawmaker wants automatic pay raises for Pennsylvanians
The Erie Times-News reports that Democrat state Rep. Emily Kinkead says that if state lawmakers get automatic pay raises, then employees across Pennsylvania should get them, too. The proposal comes as “Pennsylvania lawmakers have set their salaries to grow on autopilot over the years through a law that ensures their pay will keep pace with the rising cost of living.” But here’s a thought. Maybe automatic pay raises for lawmakers at taxpayer expense aren’t a great idea, and instead of replicating a bad idea and automatically increasing labor costs across Pennsylvania, lawmakers should ditch their own auto-pay hikes. (Somehow, we don’t see that happening.)