Pennsylvania in Focus

(The Center Square) – Expanded tax credits that make health insurance cheaper for 24.3 million Americans face expiration at the end of 2025, leaving many in the field fearful about the future of medicine for the working class. In Pennsylvania, that means premiums for 500,000 residents enrolled through Pennie — the state’s health insurance marketplace — could nearly double. As enrollment drops, prices will rise even higher to fill the gap. “We’re very concerned about what we have headed down the pike,” said Pennie Executive Director Devon Trolley during a roundtable discussion on Tuesday in Philadelphia. 

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(The Center Square) – As the number of independent voters grows, there is broad bipartisan support among Pennsylvania voters for allowing the state’s 1.4 million independents to participate in primary elections, says a new poll. Pennsylvania is one of only 14 states with closed party primaries. Implementing open or semi-open primaries would require changes to state election law, an issue currently being considered by lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly. 

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(The Center Square) – Government unions leverage payroll deductions to funnel money to almost exclusively Democratic candidates, according to a new report in Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative policy group based in Harrisburg, said government unions spent $33 million in 2023 and 2024 supporting political action committees and other causes, of which just 5.2% backed candidates from other parties. Although many membership organizations spend money on political campaigns, critics like the foundation say unions have an unethical advantage by collecting membership dues via payroll deduction.

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(The Center Square) - Policymakers spoke in no uncertain terms at a hearing in Pittsburgh on Tuesday: both rural and urban regions will suffer if the legislature doesn’t come up with funding solutions for mass transit. The last long-term dedicated funding measure, Act 89, was passed in 2013 and has since expired. Since then, the governor and legislature have battled over short-term solutions for the struggling SEPTA and Pittsburgh Regional Transit, or PRT, systems. Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed allocating 1.75% of the state sales tax to transit, a $292 million increase that would represent the first of its kind in over a decade.

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(The Center Square) - Gov. Josh Shapiro provided an update on investigations into the arson that occurred at his Harrisburg residence over the weekend. His update comes after details about the case, and with them about the alleged attacker Cody Balmer, have come to light - including that he was struggling with acute mental illness. A potential motive for the crime was mentioned in a search warrant obtained by PennLive. It stated that in a 911 call following the attack, Balmer said that he “will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.” Shapiro has distanced himself from controversial writing on the topic of Palestine during his college career, however he has indicated support for Israel’s prosecution of the war and advocates for a two-state solution.

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(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania politics cast a stunning juxtaposition this weekend. On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, a conservative political celebration for state Republicans, began its three-day run while stocks plummeted following the president’s announcement of new tariffs. Meanwhile, Democratic senators Vincent Hughes and Art Haywood of Philadelphia marked 57 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., on Friday. They and others used the opportunity to “sound the alarm” on federal threats to education and equity.

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(The Center Square) – The debate over whether children should undergo gender transition treatments has grown in fervor since Election Day, though a pending bill to ban the procedures in Pennsylvania has not. The Senate Majority Policy Committee, filled entirely with Republicans from the upper chamber, will center the issue at a hearing in Altoona next week. Parents, medical professionals, and detransitioned patients will share their perspectives on why the pending legislation, called the Do No Harm Act, should become law.

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(The Center Square) - The Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association joined legislators at the capitol to speak out against the proposed closures of State Correctional Institute Rockview in Centre County and nearby Quehanna Boot Camp in Clearfield County. Their stated concerns are many. The two facilities are major employers in the rural central area of the state, and residents are worried about the economic impact of losing them. Corrections officers are torn with the prospect of either taking on new roles at distant facilities or leaving their current careers. 

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(The Center Square) - Invoking the state and national history of immigration, beginning with the welcome offered by William Penn, some Pennsylvania elected officials want to pass new laws that counter the federal government’s recent deportation efforts. The PA Welcoming Caucus held a press conference skewering the Trump administration’s immigration policies, of which Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, said are intended to “erect a chilling order of terror and inquisition” across the United States.

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(The Center Square) – Democrats in Pennsylvania flipped a reliably red seat in the state Senate on Tuesday by less than 500 votes. East Petersburg Mayor James Malone’s victory over Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons surprised all. In November, President Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick won the region by wide margins. Malone will replace former Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lititz, who resigned earlier this year to serve as McCormick’s state director in Pennsylvania. Aument had been representing the district since 2016, and though its borders had changed slightly throughout the decades due to reapportionment, Republicans have held the seat since the 1970s.

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