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📆 What’s happening today. The House of Representatives and the Senate are in session.
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The best story
1. House Passes Comprehensive School Financing Plan
“The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday passed House Bill 2370 – the Basic Education Funding Act – which amends the state school code.
The final vote was 107 to 94 with two absences. Five Republicans voted for the bill – Representatives Joe Hogan (R-bucks), Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerna), Jim Marshall (R-Beaver), Tomek Mehaffi (R-Dauphin) i KC Tomlinson (R-bucks). Rep. Joe Kerwin (R-Dauphin) i Representative David Zimmerman (R-Lancaster/Berks) were absent.
The bill — currently headed to the Republican-controlled Senate — would implement a seven-year funding plan adopted in January by the state’s Basic Education Financing Commission. (PolitykaPA)
Related
Pennsylvania schools will receive billions more under a Democratic plan passed by the House of Representatives. “A Democrat-sponsored proposal to increase public school funding by billions in coming years and impose stricter rules on schools that use cybersecurity passed the Pennsylvania House on Monday in a test of political will as lawmakers haggle over the state budget.” (AP)
- The AP House has taken a step to change the school funding system and now must convince the Senate to sign off on it. (Questioner from Philadelphia)
- A historic school funding plan is passing the House of Representatives, but it faces a bumpy road in the Senate. (PennLive)
- Pennsylvania House approves changes to education funding and provides immense augment in aid for Philadelphia schools. (Chalkbeat Philadelphia)
Fetterman was involved in a car accident on Sunday. “Senator John Fetterman and his wife Gisele were involved in a car accident in western Maryland on Sunday. Initial reports indicate that Fetterman was driving a Chevrolet Traverse that struck the rear of a Chevrolet Impala as both vehicles were traveling west on I-70. (PoliticsPA)
Trump says he will work “shoulder to shoulder” with a group that wants to “eradicate” abortion “Former President Donald Trump said Monday that if re-elected, he plans to work “shoulder to shoulder” with a newly formed religious organization that says abortion is the “greatest atrocity facing” the United States and should be “completely eradicated.”Penn Capital Star)
Country
2. Shapiro drops a four-letter word on live TV in an offhand message to Trump
“Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro on Monday, he gave him some all-too-obtuse advice Donald Trump.
“I got a message for Donald Trump and all his negativity and whining,” he told MSNBC Only Psaki. “Stop talking nonsense, America. This is the greatest country on Earth and it’s time we all started behaving like it.” (HuffPost)
Related
Voices of Reason S1E6: Women in Pennsylvania Politics. “Women in Pennsylvania Politics – The historic race between two candidates for treasurer, the influence of women in the state legislature, and the power of women’s votes across the commonwealth. Join us for this edition of Voices of Reason, hosted by PoliticsPA and presented by L2 Data Inc. in collaboration with Broad + Liberty. ”(PoliticsPA)
New project supporting Democratic women injects money into state-level races. “The Women in Democracy initiative aims to raise money for candidates pushing bills to expand voting access.” (known)
Protesters stormed the offices of AP senators supporting school vouchers on Capitol Hill. “About 250 vociferous anti-school bonus activists showed up on Monday at the offices of four state senators who accepted campaign contributions financed directly or indirectly by Pennsylvania’s richest man, demanding they cut ties with him.” (PennLive)
Momnibus bills will augment access to doulas and provide necessary supplies to recent parents. “Pennsylvania’s public health insurance program would cover doula services and new parents would receive kits containing diapers and nursing pads under legislative proposals that could be included in this year’s budget.” (PA reflector)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. Judge allows RNC and Pennsylvania Republicans to defend law disqualifying undated and mislabeled mail-in ballots
“A Pennsylvania court allowed the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Pennsylvania Republicans to intervene in a case challenging a state law that does not allow the counting of incorrectly or undated mailed ballots.
On Friday, the RNC and state Republicans filed a motion to intervene in the case, explaining that if the plaintiffs win their case in court, “Pennsylvania’s orderly election administration will be upended shortly before a critical general election.”Document of democracy)
Related
Access to reproductive care is inspiring many doctors to run for office. “Doctors are running for office trying to bring their medical knowledge to the debate on reproductive rights. Is this enough when Trump and Biden are nearly tied in national polls?” (WQLN)
The lawsuit challenges Lancaster County for rejecting absentee ballots in April. “A group representing Pennsylvania retirees filed a lawsuit Friday to prevent the Lancaster County Board of Elections from rejecting mail-in ballots where voters did not write the year under their signature on the outer envelope of the ballot, consistent with the county’s policy in the recent presidential primary election “. (LNP)
Calendar of the General Meeting. “Here are the meeting dates for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate through the end of the fiscal year.” (PoliticsPA)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
- Biden must assist protect democracy at home and in our neighborhoods. (Questioner from Philadelphia)
- Trump: Fraudulent businessman, worst president, convicted felon. (Charles Hisiro)
- Dave McCormick energized on a 67-county tour. (Selena Zito)
- Ten rules for understanding the 2024 elections (Walter Shapiro)
- Green or greed? A stark contrast between Biden and Trump’s environmental policies. (Katie Blume)
- Paid parental leave could make Pennsylvania more competitive (Grandstand overview)
- Trump is not the answer to America’s immigration crisis. (Bloomberg)
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5. No more shopping in one place
“Shoppers are increasingly visiting multiple grocery stores to save money and find exclusive products. Blame it on inflation and the growth of store brands.
The big picture: We now live in the era of “treasure-hunt grocery shopping,” as the Wall Street Journal recently put it. The average shopper purchased groceries from 20.7 unique retailers between March 2023 and February 2024, according to data firm Numerator.
This is an increase of almost 25% compared to the same period in 2019-2020.” (Axles)
