Pennsylvania in Focus

As the state's prolonged game of chicken enters its third month, all eyes turn toward the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. That’s because two key pieces of legislation needed to enact the $45.5 billion budget sit unfinished on the chamber’s desk, though neither meets the demands of the Democrats in charge. As such, leadership dismisses the bills as nothing more than the Senate’s revenge for a school voucher program Gov. Josh Shapiro cut from the budget to appease his legislative allies.

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Officials tasked with monitoring the state's medical marijuana program said this week edibles don't belong in Pennsylvania's marketplace. Concerns about safety, efficacy and legal enforcement gave members of the Medical Marijuana Advisory Program pause. Six abstained from voting on the recommendation at all during its Wednesday meeting. Only two members supported the proposal, while two more rejected it.

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The state’s piecemeal budget negotiations fractured again this week after lawmakers split a key measure in half. When the Senate gaveled out of a rare one-day voting session Wednesday, the chamber left behind two fiscal codes for the House to sort out – an unorthodox strategy that’s brought the process no closer to conclusion, legislative sources say.

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A new report argues that Appalachian natural gas recently entered a production plateau and economic growth in the area now depends on other industries. “As measured by jobs, population, and income, Appalachia’s principal shale gas producing counties have done worse economically than the region and the nation since the dawn of the Appalachian boom,” the report from the Ohio River Valley Institute stated.

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The state Senate will return to Harrisburg later this month to finalize crucial pieces of the budget, according to Republican leadership. Senate President Kim Ward, R-Greensburg, called session for Aug. 30 – two months past the start of the new fiscal year – to finalize code bills, which serve as the blueprint for how to spend money earmarked in the $45.5 billion budget itself.

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A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Chester leaves some residents anxious about further environmental degradation, while advocates make promises of economic growth. The Philadelphia LNG Export Task Force met in Chester on Tuesday, with jobs and tax revenue at the front of the mind for both members and testifiers.

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A state constitutional amendment in the early stages of development suggests curbing the authority of unconfirmed cabinet officials. Republican Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill and Judy Ward recently began circulating a co-sponsorship memo for the proposal that says gubernatorial appointees unconfirmed by the Senate should exercise limited authority.

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Homelessness has declined nationally over the last decade, but the number of those who have been unhoused for long periods of time has crept upward. At the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual summit, government officials and experts discussed expanding the housing supply and the need for leaders to change their approach when something isn’t working.

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A federal broadband expansion program triggers similar complaints across the country: red tape and labor shortages make the process daunting, even by bureaucratic standards, and many worry about the logistics of such a massive undertaking. At a summit hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures on Monday, officials emphasized the artificial barriers set up by the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, or BEAD, which provides $42.5 billion in federal cash to states.

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Though thousands of Pennsylvanians die from a drug overdose every year, using medication as treatment to wean them off an addiction is rarely used. That approach reflects a national trend. A new report funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that only 22% of Americans with an opioid use disorder received any medication to treat it.

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