Spotlight PA

Since January 2021, Pennsylvania legislators have proposed more than 70 changes to the constitution, some of which could radically reshape how parts of state government work.

The failures are not the result of poor oversight, but rather an explicit effort by lawmakers to limit the information that is collected about the tax credit program.

Those in charge of drawing the state’s congressional and legislative maps have blown the Wolf administration’s Jan. 24 deadline for final versions.

The state Senate voted Monday to approve a Republican-backed plan that nonpartisan analysts say has a clear GOP advantage.

Leaders of the fund have become increasingly upset over what they perceive as “leaks” about the botched investment calculation scandal that has led to multiple federal investigations.

The chair of the committee in charge of drawing the legislative maps said it will be “challenging” to finish them in under 30 days.

The governor and top lawmakers are facing a Jan. 30 deadline to complete the congressional map, or the state courts will take over.

Wolf’s veto tally grew extensively during the pandemic and will likely expand during his final 13 months in office, as Republicans continue to largely bypass his agenda.

State Republicans have increasingly relied on constitutional amendments to pursue policy initiatives Gov. Tom Wolf would otherwise reject and most Democrats don’t support.

If Wolf and the legislature do not agree on a final plan by Jan. 30, Commonwealth Court said it will take over the process as part of an ongoing lawsuit.

As lawmakers shielded details of their legal spending last year, they spent an additional $35,000 in taxpayer money to fight efforts to make the information public.

Democrats and nonpartisan good-government groups decried the proposed constitutional amendment as an attempted power grab that does nothing to remove lawmaker influence from the process.

The commission’s nonpartisan chair also defended the redistricting process against accusations of partisan bias.

Anticipating that the Democratic governor and GOP lawmakers won’t be able to agree on a map, concerned citizens and redistricting advocates are lobbying the state Supreme Court to intervene.

The Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot was the culmination of deliberate lies and misinformation about the November 2020 election results and involved dozens of Pennsylvanians.