Month: November 2019

Lawmakers spent a packed four days in Harrisburg before leaving town for the holidays. Here’s what they did.

 

Last week was a big one in Harrisburg. The House and Senate both convened for an unusual four-day session and passed a lot of bills—so many that we weren’t able to file stories on all of them.

But in this episode, we recap some of the biggest ones.

A long fight to overhaul Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations on child sexual abuse may be over, thanks to the legislature passing a package of bills that drastically expand the amount of time people abused as children have report that abuse.

Plus, after years of pressure from advocates, lawmakers are moving to stop…themselves…from accepting so many expensive gifts.

The state House spent several hours debating, then passing, a controversial bill that would require medical facilities to bury a fetus after a miscarriage or an abortion. It wasn’t the only abortion-related bill on the docket—both chambers worked together to send a measure to Governor Tom Wolf’s desk that would ban abortions that are performed on the basis of a Down Syndrome diagnosis.

Wolf has said he would veto both.

In addition, a group of pro-natural gas legislators got together to tell Wolf he went too far in ordering the commonwealth to join a regional effort to cut power plant emissions, a moderate Democratic state senator left his party, and we bring you an update (from outside the Capitol) on election officials experimenting with new post-election audits.

And more.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

This week, we’re re-airing five stories you should hear.

In one, Governor Tom Wolf learns the FBI is looking into his administration’s environmental permitting practices.  Plus, reporters in Philadelphia look into badly contaminated drinking water in a charter school, PA Post reports on a proposed community college in Erie, WITF follows up on problems with the state unemployment compensation system, and StateImpact Pennsylvania takes a trip to Scotland to track some of the commonwealth’s shale gas.

Also, here’s a reminder that NewsMatch is ongoing — it’s a matching gift campaign for independent, nonpartisan newsrooms like PA Post, running now until the end of the year. Every dollar is matched three times, so a $10 donation nets $40 for PA Post. If you like this podcast and the work of the entire PA Post team, please take a moment to make a contribution.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The last week was exceptionally busy both in and outside the Capitol—from major election reforms passing the legislature to big, controversial court decisions on constitutional amendments.

This week, we have all the big stories you should get caught up on.

First, Marsy’s Law—the proposed amendment meant to enshrine victims’ rights in the state constitution. A judge ruled last week that Pennsylvania’s Department of State can’t count the votes on Marsy’s Law after voters make their decisions November 5th. But that situation is still fluid—the attorney general’s office is appealing, and the state Supreme Court could reverse the decision before the election. Because things are changing so quickly, we’re referring readers to our online reports for updates.

We’re also highlighting stories on voting overhauls, major bills on remote medical care and pension reform, disgraced Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, and a facility in Berks County that detains undocumented immigrants.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS