Pennsylvania in Focus

Environmental remediation got a boost this week as Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a $101 million funding effort to restore abandoned mine lands at 16 sites across the commonwealth. The projects will target acid mine drainage, which can damage nature and streams in the area, as well as threaten human health. The projects are bankrolled by the federal government through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and cover projects in a dozen counties.

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Pennsylvania's recreational marijuana prohibition recently inspired one county election official to not seek re-election. During an interview with The Center Square, Warren County District Attorney Rob Greene said prosecuting violations of the ban weren't worth the office's time. Public safety isn’t threatened by legalization, he argued. Instead, law enforcement should focus on bigger threats.

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Pennsylvania is looking at $1.6 billion to expand broadband to rural and overlooked parts of the state, but experts are warning that the process puts the government in the way of success. Pennsylvania, too, may face hurdles that other states simply don’t. “One thing keeps getting in the way, and it’s called government,” Huntingdon County Commissioner Jeff Thomas told lawmakers during a House GOP Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday. Local, state and federal governments, he said, undermined each other and put a stop to getting more towers up and fiber-optic cables in the ground.

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Pennsylvania’s horse racing industry saw a dip in state subsidies for 2023 — but only a minor one. It still remains one of the largest taxpayer-supported equine programs in America. Subsidies for horse-racing has a long tradition in the commonwealth: Since 2004, more than $3.5 billion in taxpayer money has flown toward the equine sport, as The Center Square previously reported.

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The annual Pennsylvania Farm Show brings a circular focus to agriculture in Harrisburg and officials call attention to issues that get overlooked. During a joint House and Senate committee hearing, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding warned that a housing shortage affects farmers, too. “One issue of particular interest right now is farmworker housing,” Redding said. “I think it’s an issue for the state of America.”

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Philadelphia’s new mayor, Cherelle Parker, knows the city needs more affordable housing and says fixing the problem is one of her top priorities. As part of her 100-day action plan announced Tuesday, the mayor pledged to enable more housing to get built and ordered a plan for “affordable luxury” for low- and middle-income families. The problem is a serious one for the city and Pennsylvania broadly. Experts argue that the state has a shortage of almost 100,000 housing units.

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Pennsylvania’s largest water company could save millions annually with improved monitoring and material management, according to a recent analysis. The state Public Utility Commission’s audit of the Pennsylvania-American Water Company, which serves about 2.4 million people across 37 counties, gave more than 30 recommendations for operations, monitoring and management of the company. If the changes are made, the commission argued more than $3 million could be saved annually, in addition to a one-time $4 million cost reduction.

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Though Pennsylvania officials have not fixed the EMS system across the state, some progress has been made in 2023. Staffing shortages, low pay, and legal hurdles remain, but the year brought more focus from local and state officials on the emergency safety net.

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Gov. Josh Shapiro still has a good favorability rating, but the public has started to give him less leeway, according to a new poll. A more negative view of the economy could be catching up to him. The Commonwealth Foundation released its latest quarterly survey on politics and economics as seen by Pennsylvanians, with more people less sure about Shapiro.

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A deluge of work that packed dozens of bills in the Pennsylvania General Assembly into a few days meant that legislators voted based on limited information. The result, some of them said, is that bad bills are now the law of the land. One example is Senate Bill 863 — Act 43 of 2023 — that gained.

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