[ Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else ] The federal COVID relief bill signed into law by President Biden last week lifted a huge burden from Senate and House Republicans on how they were going to balance the state’s FY 2020-21 state budget.

While Gov. Wolf praised the Biden Administration and Congress for passing the aid bill, he expressed disappointment Friday that it also dashed almost all hope he would get any of the major budget proposals he outlined in February-- not that there was a real chance anyway judging from the budget hearings.  Read more here.

Wolf had proposed wiping out the deficit and boosting public school aid by $1.3 billion-- about 20 percent-- by increasing the state’s personal income tax rate, but restructuring the tax so lower-income households see a tax cut and the burden falls on households earning $84,000 or more.  Read more here.

“If the federal government is going to give us $7 billion, I can guarantee the Republicans are going to say, ‘Let’s continue to kick the can down the road,’ and I think that’s unfortunate,” Wolf said.  Read more here.

Every Republican member of Congress representing Pennsylvania voted against the aid bill saying it was too big and should have been more targeted.  Every Democratic member voted for it. Read more here.

While state-level Republicans are secretly happy the federal money is coming their way, several members are expressing concerns about how it will be spent-- on one time expenses related to COVID or on recurring expenses like they did to balance the FY 2019-20 budget.  Read more here.

Republicans never seem to pass on one-time fixes to balance a budget any way they can, so you can guess which way that one will go.

Pennsylvania had been looking at a $2.5 to $3 billion deficit.

The Numbers

Some of the big ticket support Pennsylvania is expected to receive from the aid package, includes--

-- $7 billion (or so) for state government [Read more here]

-- $5.8 billion for county [$2.8 billion] and local governments [$3 billion]  [Read more here]

-- $5.1 billion to K-12 schools  [Read more here]

-- $1.3 billion to colleges, universities  [Read more here]

-- $1.28 billion for transit [Read more here]

-- $671 million in emergency rental assistance  [Read more here]

-- $74 million in homelessness assistance [Read more here]

Of course, this is in addition to the other things in the package, like stimulus checks to individuals, child care payments, aid to get health insurance, etc.

Infrastructure Next?

Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), Major Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was already looking ahead to when the Biden Administration and Congress consider their next big funding package to support infrastructure projects.

At the March 11 hearing on DEP’s budget, he noted there will probably be “substantial investment going directly to local communities” for services like water and sewer systems.

“These are monies coming directly from Washington, so our [General Assembly’s] purview in terms of dictating the uses of those is limited,” said Sen. Browne. 

He said with DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell’s leadership as the key environmental protection official of the state, he could help “guide local communities as to what would be a very effective use of those dollars.”

Sen. Browne added, “Some of the dollars are coming out of this proposal relative to the annual budgets of these local communities is enormous… but your voice as to the use of these for those purposes would be very valuable.  Would you consider doing that?”

Secretary McDonnell replied, “Absolutely…. It’s a conversation we’ve had a few times now at least internally… How can we best support communities?  How can we make sure we are keeping on top of permits and other things.  We are definitely excited to engage on that.”

No Gasoline Tax?

Having discovered forming a bipartisan task force on the COVID vaccine rollout seems to be working, Gov. Wolf last week announced he was forming a Transportation Revenue Options Commission that he hopes will enable him to phase out the gasoline tax.  Read more here.

“Our economy, our communities, and our future rely on a strong transportation system that supports our safety and growth. We have more than $9 billion in annual unmet needs across our state-maintained transportation system alone. At the same time, Pennsylvania is relying too much on outdated, unreliable funding methods, and the federal government hasn’t taken meaningful action in decades,” Gov. Wolf said. “Phasing out the burdensome gas tax, coupled with seeking long-term reliable funding solutions that will keep pace with our infrastructure needs, deserves a close examination. Forming this bipartisan commission will bring multiple, bipartisan voices to the table to ensure that we can examine reliable, sustainable revenue solutions to address both near-term and long-term funding needs.”

The task force is due to report its recommendations before August 1.

Minimum Wage

On March 11, Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie), who two weeks ago introduced bipartisan legislation to legalize adult use of marijuana, announced he would be introducing legislation to increase Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $10 and provide inflation adjusted increases after that.  Read more here.

“I have heard from my constituents and have listened to both sides of the political aisle. It is definitely time that we address the issue and I believe my bill is the most responsible way to approach it,” said Sen. Laughlin. “My legislation increases Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $10 and – based on inflation – would provide for regular increases as appropriate.”

Having a Republican introduce a minimum wage increase is not unheard of.  Then Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York), and a former gubernatorial candidate, introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage in 2015, but it never went anywhere.

Vaccine Rollout Continues

On March 12, Gov. Wolf announced everyone in Pennsylvania with a Phase IA priority should have an appointment to be vaccinated by the end of March. Read more here.

Both the Governor and the members of the bipartisan Vaccine Task Force announced plans to use a portion of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to vaccinate law enforcement, corrections staff, grocery workers, firefighters (both career and volunteer), meat processing and agriculture workers. Read more here.

The new challenge facing the Task Force are the goals President Biden announced Thursday to make every adult eligible to receive a vaccine by May 1 and to aim for July 4 as “Independence Day” from COVID, with plenty of qualifiers of course    Read more here.

Another optimistic note came from Philadelphia where health officials predicted the city could reach herd immunity by June.  Read more here.

Not that everything is going smoothly, of course. 

Seniors still report being at their “wit’s end” in trying to get appointments [Read more here], there were stronger complaints from counties being “short-changed” in getting vaccines [Read more here. Read more here.], notable successes in mass vaccinations around the state [Read more here] and more good journalism about the COVID pandemic one year later.

Click Here for last week’s COVID NewsClips.

Easing Nursing Home Restrictions

On March 12, the departments of Health and Human Services, “strongly encouraged’ long-term care facilities to implement updated CDC guidance released last week on visitors to their facilities.  Read more here.

One commentator called it the best news he heard all year.  Read more here.

However, long-term care facilities are understandably very cautious about returning to more to normal operation after the death and illness that swept through their residents and staff.  Read more here.

COVID-19 Death Toll

As of March 12, the Department of Health’s COVID Monitoring System Dashboard is showing the statewide percent positivity of 5.7 percent has not changed from last week after a steady decline over the last few months-- anything over 5 percent is bad. 

The total number of deaths from COVID-19 increased from 24,317 on March 6 to 24,573 on March 13.  The number of people testing positive for the virus went from 946,985 cases on March 6 to 964,296 on March 13.

As of March 13, the PA COVID Vaccine Dashboard shows 2,335,756 people have been given one dose of a COVID vaccine-- up from 1,909,291 last week-- and 1,200,200  have been given the required two doses-- up from 868,149 last week.

Unemployment Up

On March 12, the Department of Labor and Industry reported January unemployment in Pennsylvania increased 0.2 percent to 7.3 percent, while U.S. unemployment fell four-tenths of a percent to 6.3 percent.

The labor force shrank by about 15,000 and the number of people employed fell by 25,000.  Payrolls, however, expanded by almost 36,000 in January.  Read more here.

Click Here for the details.

On March 12, after being faced with a barrage of criticism from Republicans and Democrats at budget hearings, the Department of Labor and Industry announced they would be hiring and training at least 500 new customer service representatives to handle resolving unemployment claims full-time.  Read more here.

The agency said it was prepared to hire up to 1,000 new staff if that’s what it took to improve claims service.

Poll Position

Although the new Franklin & Marshall Poll released last week didn’t attract much attention, it has some important signals on what voters in Pennsylvania are thinking--

-- 36% think state headed in right direction: 57% said so in October 2019

-- 69% say they are financially about the same as last year, 11% better

-- 17% believe they are worse off, highest number in this poll since March 2011

-- 67% support minimum wage increase

-- 59% support legalizing use of marijuana

-- 74% of Democrats will get COVID vaccine, 36% of Republicans

-- 61% disapprove of vote against certifying results of 2020 presidential election

-- 86% of Democrats, disapprove of vote, 55% of Independents, 42% of Republicans

-- 41% think Biden is doing an excellent or good job: higher than Trump, lower than Obama

-- 42% of Republicans support Trump, 38% align with traditional Republicans

NewsClips:

WITF: New Poll: Majority Of PA Voters Say PA Congressmen Should Not Have Voted Against Certifying State’s Election Results

Cap-Star: Poll: Half Of PA Republican Voters Say They Approve Of Jan. 6 Votes To Overturn Nov. Election Results

LancasterOnline: F&M Poll: PA Republicans Still Split On Whether They Align Themselves With Trump Or Traditional Republican Values

New Candidates

Last week saw some new candidates announce they were taking the plunge--

-- State Appellate Courts: 8 Democrats, 6 Republicans filed petitions to run for open seats on the PA Supreme Court (1), Superior Court (1) and Commonwealth Court (2).  Folks began to realize again how important the PA Supreme Court was last year with all the election challenges.

-- Lackawanna Senate Seat: Rep. Kyle Mullins announced he was seeking the Democratic endorsement which put him up against Rep. Marty Flynn for the same seat.  Rep. Flynn got the endorsement Saturday.  Read more here.

-- Lebanon Senate Seat: Former Republican Rep. Ed Krebs announced he plans to run as an Independent [Read more here] and Libertarian Tim McMaster announced he was launching his campaign in the traditionally Republican district. Read more here.  On the Democratic side, Dr. Calvin Clements, a veterinarian, was picked Saturday to run for the seat.  Read more here.

-- Governor?  Four-term Republican Rep. Jason Ortitay from Washington County said he’s considering the possibility of running for Governor.  Read more here.

-- U.S. Senate: Jeff Bartos made it official, he is jumping into the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.  Read more here.

PA’s Role In The Assault On U.S. Capitol

Another Pennsylvania resident was arrested for his role in the assault on the U.S. Capitol in January-- number 31-- and another county Republican Committee voted to censure Sen. Pat Toomey for his vote to convict President Trump of inciting the assault.

On Tuesday, a Washington County man was charged with entering the U.S. Senate floor illegally and reading documents he removed from the desks of Senators.  Read more here.

The U.S. Department of Justice said last week there may be 100 or more people yet to be charged in the assault on the Capitol.  Read more here.

Also on Tuesday, Lehigh County Republicans voted overwhelmingly to censure Sen. Pat Toomey for his vote against Trump.  Read more here.

A new Franklin & Marshall Poll released last week found 42 percent of Republicans still support Trump in Pennsylvania, while 38 percent said they aligned with more traditional Republicans values.  Read more here.

The poll also found half of Republican voters say they approve of the January 6 votes to overturn the November election results.  Read more here.

Overall, 61 percent of all voters surveyed disapproved of the votes overturning the election results.

Schuylkill County-based Gab social media website again got national media attention when leaked account information showed the site was being used by neo-Nazis, QAnoon influencers and conspiracy theorists to spread their messages. Read more here.   Read more background here

Two suspects were arrested for arson in connection with burning down the “Biden Barn” painted in support of President Biden and Vice President Harris in Mifflin County.  Read more here.

Police are investigating an incident in an Allegheny County school after drawings of a Nazi swastika were found.  Read more here.

On Saturday, students and adults held a protest march and read accounts of racial abuse and harassment from their experiences attending an Adams County high school.  Read more here.

Another Lawsuit Tossed

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the conservative political group Judicial Watch over alleged “dirty voter rolls” in Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties filed last April.  Read more here.

The judge cited an “implausible theory” and other reasons for dismissing the case.

Death Threats

Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta and Brian Sims, both Democrats from Philadelphia, reported last week they are getting and increasing number of death threats.  Read more here.

Rep. Sims, who was the first openly gay member member of the General Assembly, and Rep. Kenyatta, who is running for U.S. Senate and is Black, both said threats and hate mail have increased during the Trump Administration.

They have both turned over the more serious threats to law enforcement.

Bachelor Pad

House and Senate Republicans will hold their annual retreat in-person this year at the upscale Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Fayette County.  Fans of “The Bachelor” will recognize it as the backdrop for the show’s most recent season.  Read more here.

One Republican was quoted as saying, “It’s not a good look.”

Senate Democrats met remotely last month.  House Democrats are delaying their meeting until later in the year when they hope more of the state’s population is vaccinated.

What’s Next?

They’re back!  The Senate and House are back in Harrisburg for voting session this week and next and then they break until April 12.

The Senate continues its agency-by-agency budget hearings with the Department of Education and the State System of Higher Education.

The Special Committee on Election Integrity and Reform meets March 15 to hold a hearing on a review of “best practices of election integrity and security from other states.”

Click Here for Senate Committee schedule.

The House has a full slate of committee meetings and hearings featuring another House State Government Committee hearing on COVID policy-- this time on government telework-- and another election 2020 hearing, this time on mail-in and absentee ballots.

The House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee also meets on COVID, in this case how the pandemic affected tourism, lodging and attractions in Pennsylvania.

The House Consumer Affairs Committee kicks off the first of two hearings on the state electricity industry with the Public Utility Commission.

The House Environmental Committee has another “Embracing Pennsylvania’s Energy Potential” hearing, this time on hydrogen power and carbon capture.  It duplicates a Senate Environmental Committee hearing on the same topics last week.  Read more here.

The House may also take steps to do an “emergency” constitutional amendment to get a proposal before voters in May to open a two-year window for victims of child sexual assault to file civil lawsuits.  Read more here.

Click Here for House Committee schedule.

NewsClips:

Click Here For A Week’s Worth Of Political NewsClips

Click Here For PA Coronavirus NewsClips

Click Here For A Week’s Worth Of Environment & Energy NewsClips

[Posted: March 14, 2021]

3/15/2021