Pennsylvania in Focus

(The Center Square) – The American Tort Reform Foundation has labeled Pennsylvania as the nation’s worst “Judicial Hellhole” in a new report. “Lawsuit abuse in the City of Brotherly Love has reached a fever pitch with nuclear verdicts,” claims the foundation, suggesting that “eye-popping nine-figure damage awards were issued without hardly a thought.” In making its case against the commonwealth, the group highlights huge sums awarded in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and recent decisions by the state’s Supreme Court which open the door both for increased litigation and higher claims for damages.

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(The Center Square) – The manhunt for the person who gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk five days ago ended at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa. Described as a “vigilante” jaded by the commercial health insurance industry, Gov. Josh Shapiro said online support for the accused, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, leaves him sickened. “I have no tolerance nor should anyone for one man using an illegal ghost gun to murder someone because he thinks his opinion matters most,” he said during a Monday evening news conference in Hollidaysburg. “This killer is not a hero. He should not be hailed.”

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(The Center Square) – Local officials caught defying Pennsylvania election law may find themselves without a job. Rep. Joe D’Orsie, R-York, is drafting legislation that would give the state House the power to remove county and municipal officials from office. It’s similar to the impeachment process and would ultimately require voter approval. D’Orsie and other members of the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus back the bill after Bucks County Commissioners voted to count roughly 400 ballots with dating errors amid a razor-thin race between incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and his Republican challenger Dave McCormick.

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(The Center Square) – In a report issued by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, disparities in domestic violence reporting between rural and urban communities reveal stark differences in the experiences of survivors. The study, conducted by Dr. Emily Strohacker at Penn State Harrisburg, surveyed and interviewed survivors across the commonwealth, primarily identified through victim service organizations. "Victims of domestic violence in rural areas face barriers to getting help that are unique,” said Susan Higginbotham, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Feelings of fear, embarrassment, and shame are common, and many rural cases are not reported because victims worry that other people in their small communities will learn about their abuse.”

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(The Center Square) – Some Pittsburgh residents may feel déjà vu as the city’s public school system considers yet another plan to close buildings and redistribute many of its 20,000 students. Though many see the district as overspending and underperforming, the strategy of reconfiguring schools also raises questions among parents who say similar attempts over the last 20 years didn’t pan out. Faced with declining enrollment and expensive facility upkeep, the district contracted Educational Resource Strategies, a non-profit organization, to reimagine the district’s operations. In the current model, the district’s 60 buildings have a 53% utilization rate.

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A controversial $14.9 billion overseas buyout of the iconic U.S. Steel company based in Pittsburgh still doesn’t have Donald Trump’s support. On Tuesday, the president-elect reaffirmed his vow to block the deal with Japanese-based Nippon Steel, upholding the same promise given by the Biden administration earlier this year. Instead, Trump says, stronger tariffs will save the company from shuttering its headquarters in the eponymous Steel City and moving further south.

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State government covers more than half of operational costs for mass transit systems in Pennsylvania’s largest cities. Notably, it’s not rider fares or contributions from local taxing authorities. In 2022, the latter represented just 7.5% of funding for both SEPTA in the Philadelphia region and the Pittsburgh Transit Authority, which operates 300 miles to the west in Allegheny County. This stands in stark contrast to systems in Boston, Chicago and New York City, where state governments pay between 9% and 30%. The data, compiled by the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Harrisburg, raises questions about the amount Pennsylvania spends to prop up its own mass transit systems.

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Pennsylvania's state Supreme Court told counties on Monday that ballots with dating errors cannot be counted as valid. The emergency order comes after elected officials in Bucks, Centre, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties overlooked the deficiencies, in violation of a previous high court ruling that said doing so was against state election law. The 4-3 order comes four days after the state and national Republican Party filed for extraordinary relief over the counting of undated and misdated ballots as election workers begin a recount in the U.S. Senate race.

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Last week, SEPTA announced a major fare increase after the state’s legislative session ended without approving additional funding for the flagging system. With each side of the state’s divided government blaming the other, SEPTA and its riders are left to make up the deficit. Legislators in Harrisburg have debated the issue several times over. Passage has been tied to skills game reform and infrastructure spending for roads and bridges, but it has never made it to the governor’s desk.

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Pennsylvania Democrats will return to the state House in January with a one-seat majority intact. This, after incumbent Rep. Frank Burns staved off Republican challenger Amy Bradley in the state’s 72nd district, nestled in deep red Cambria County. It’s the very same county that extended voting hours Tuesday after a ballot printing issue derailed counting. The mishap delayed results for many of the state’s closer races, including Dave McCormick’s defeat of Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. – a result the latter says is premature.

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