June 11: Funding Education

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What’s Happening Today. The House and Senate are in session.

What We’re Hearing. Dave McCormick has agreed to a pair of debates against Sen. Bob Casey with WHTM (Harrisburg) and WPXI (Pittsburgh) before the end of September.

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Top Story

1. House Passes Comprehensive School Funding Plan

“The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 2370 – the basic education funding bill – on Monday that amends the state’s school code.

The final vote was 107-94 with two absences. Five Republicans voted for the bill – Reps. Joe Hogan (R-Bucks), Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne), Jim Marshall (R-Beaver), Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin) and K.C. Tomlinson (R-Bucks). Rep. Joe Kerwin (R-Dauphin) and Rep. David Zimmerman (R-Lancaster/Berks) were both absent.

The bill – now headed for the Republican-controlled Senate – would put in place a seven-year funding plan adopted by the state’s Basic Education Funding Commission in January.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

Pennsylvania Schools Would Get Billions More Under Democratic Plan Passed By The State House. “A Democratic-sponsored proposal to boost public school funding by billions in the coming years and impose stricter rules on cyber-charter schools passed the Pennsylvania House on Monday in a test of political will as lawmakers haggle over the state budget.” (AP)

• PA House Took A Step To Change The School Funding System — And Now Must Convince The Senate To Sign On. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Historic School Funding Plan Passes PA House But Has Rocky Road Ahead In Senate. (PennLive)
• Pennsylvania House Passes Education Funding Overhaul With Big Aid Boost For Philly Schools. (Chalkbeat Philadelphia)

Fetterman Involved in Sunday Car Crash. “Senator John Fetterman and his wife, Gisele, were involved in a car crash on Sunday in western Maryland. Preliminary reports indicate that Fetterman was driving a Chevy Traverse when it struck the rear of a Chevrolet Impala as both vehicles were driving west on I-70.” (PoliticsPA)

Trump Says He’ll Work ‘Side By Side’ With Group That Wants Abortion ‘Eradicated’ “Former President Donald Trump said Monday that if reelected he plans to work “side by side” with a newly formed religious organization that says abortion is the “greatest atrocity facing” the United States and should be “eradicated entirely.”” (Penn Capital-Star)

State

2. Shapiro Drops 4-Letter Word On Live TV In Blunt Message For Trump

“Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday offered some all-too-blunt advice to Donald Trump.

“I got a message to Donald Trump and all his negativity and his whining,” he told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. “Stop shit-talking America. This is the greatest country on Earth, and it’s time that we all start acting like it.”” (HuffPost)

• Shapiro Says Trump Should ‘Quit Whining’ (Penn Capital-Star)

Related

Voices of Reason S1E6: Women in Pennsylvania Politics. “Women in Pennsylvania politics – a historic race between two female candidates for Treasurer, the impact of women in the state legislature, and the voting power of women across the commonwealth. Join us for this installment of Voices of Reason, hosted by PoliticsPA and presented by L2 Data Inc. in partnership with Broad + Liberty. ” (PoliticsPA)

A New Project Backing Democratic Women Is Injecting Cash in State-Level Races. “The Women in Democracy initiative pledges to raise money for candidates pushing bills that expand voting access.” (NOTUS)

Protesters Entered Capitol Offices of School Voucher-Supporting PA Senators. “Some 250 boisterous activists opposed to school vouchers on Monday descended on the offices of four state senators who have accepted campaign contributions directly or indirectly funded by Pennsylvania’s richest man to demand they cut ties with him.” (PennLive)

‘Momnibus’ Bills Would Expand Access To Doulas, Provide Essentials To New Parents. “Pennsylvania’s public health insurance program would cover doula services and new parents would receive kits that include diapers and nursing pads under legislative proposals that could be absorbed into this year’s budget.” (Spotlight PA)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Judge Allows RNC and Pennsylvania Republicans to Defend Law Disqualifying Undated and Misdated Mail-in Ballots

“A Pennsylvania court allowed the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Pennsylvania Republicans to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the state’s law that does not allow misdated or undated mail-in ballots to be counted.

The RNC and state Republicans filed a motion to intervene in the case on Friday, explaining if the plaintiffs succeed in court, “the orderly administration of Pennsylvania’s elections will be upended shortly before a critical general election.”” (Democracy Docket)

Related

Access to Reproductive Care Inspires Many Doctors To Run For Office. “Doctors are running for office in an effort to bring their medical expertise to the debate over reproductive rights. With Trump and Biden nearly even in national polls, will it be enough?” (WQLN)

Lawsuit Challenges Lancaster County Over Rejected Mail-In Ballots In April Primary. “A group representing Pennsylvania retirees filed suit Friday to prevent the Lancaster County Board of Elections from rejecting mail-in ballots on which voters failed to fill out the year under the signature line on the ballot’s outer envelope, a policy the county followed in the recent presidential primary.” (LNP)

General Assembly Calendar. “Here are the dates that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate will be in session through the end of the fiscal year.” (PoliticsPA)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Biden Must Help Protect Democracy At Home — And Next Door. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Trump: Fraudulent Businessman, Worst President, Convicted Felon. (Carl Hisiro)
• Dave McCormick Was Energized By 67-County Tour. (Selena Zito)
• Ten Rules For Understanding The 2024 Elections. (Walter Shapiro)
• Green or Greed? The Stark Contrast Between Biden and Trump’s Environmental Policies. (Katie Blume)
• Paid Parental Leave Could Make Pennsylvania Competitive. (Tribune-Review)
• Trump Is Not The Answer To America’s Immigration Crisis. (Bloomberg)

1 Thing

5. The End of 1-Stop Shopping

“Shoppers are increasingly hitting up multiple grocery stores to save money and find exclusive items. Blame it on inflation and the rise of store brands.

The big picture: We’re now in the era of “treasure-hunt grocery shopping,” as the Wall Street Journal recently put it. The average shopper purchased grocery items at 20.7 unique retailers between March 2023 and February 2024, per data firm Numerator.

That’s up nearly 25% from the same period in 2019-2020.” (Axios)

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