News & Brews June 15, 2026
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AG: Shapiro had no legal authority for taxpayer-funded upgrades
In a letter released on Friday, Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office confirmed that Gov. Shapiro had no legal authority to unilaterally use taxpayer funds to pay for security upgrades at his private residence. The letter notes, “Because the law does not allow for public funding of construction on private residences, the Treasurer had no legal option other than to deny payment.” The Inquirer reports that the AG’s office “said that Pennsylvania would foot the $1 million bill ‘on a one-time basis,’ noting the extraordinary circumstances…” But the AG’s office “stressed the need for collaboration to update the Commonwealth’s laws to meet today’s threats against public officials.”
How to ‘decimate’ small businesses
If politicians were looking for a way to ruin small businesses, they found it in Allegheny County with their proposal to mandate that small businesses fund 4.5 months of paid parental leave for employees. Former small business owner and current president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation Andrew Lewis explains in the Tribune-Review how this proposal “would cause countless Allegheny County businesses to either shutter operations or move elsewhere.”
No state budget, no job?
Pennsylvania has a rather embarrassing history of late state budgets. Republican state Rep. Natalie Mihalek (Allegheny & Washington counties) believes a late budget should lead to “consequences” for lawmakers. She plans to introduce legislation outlining that a budget impasse would “trigger a special election. This proposal is meant to prompt a necessary conversation about improving the budget process and to ensure that the people of Pennsylvania have a meaningful way to hold their government accountable.”
Democrat drama in Dauphin
PennLive reports that “mass confusion” was on display at last week’s reorganizational meeting of the Dauphin County Democratic Committee. The source of the mayhem was questions over how many committee members had signed up to vote for new leadership. Ultimately, Steelton Mayor Ciera Dent was elected the new chair. But the story notes, “The meeting and vote were in many ways a microcosm of the dysfunction that some committee members and lawmakers have complained about for years.”
State rep threatened, office damaged
A 65-year-old man has been arrested and charged for entering Republican state Rep. K.C. Tomlinson’s Bensalem office and “harassing and threatening two of her employees,” NBC10 reports. “Investigators said [Donald] Ambrose went through the desks of one of the employees, scattering paperwork around the office while yelling and screaming. The second employee told Ambrose to leave and that they would call the police, officials said. Ambrose then pointed at the second employee and told him, ‘You’re dead,’ according to the criminal complaint.” Following the incident, Tomlinson issued a statement which said in part, “We can disagree on issues but we must do better as human beings – it’s never okay to destroy property or threaten someone’s life.”