Pennsylvania in Focus

Mar 08 2025 361 ep. 8 mins 10

Pennsylvania in Focus Podcast artwork

The podcast bringing you the most important stories out of Pennsylvania from TheCenterSquare.com. Join us as we dive into the top headlines and provide insightful commentary and analysis.

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Vital Snap Benefits for Pennsylvanians Face Several Threats

Mar 08 2025 7 mins

(The Center Square) - Over 2 million Pennsylvanians receive funds from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Monthly, this brings about 367 million in federal dollars to the state. In budget hearings before the House Appropriations Committee, legislators sought to better understand who that money benefits, how it’s being used, and how it can be abused. A

Humane Corrections to Pennsylvania State Incarceration Offer New Hope

Mar 07 2025 4 mins

(The Center Square) - The quality of life afforded the state’s prisoners is a perennial concern for families, human rights advocates and workers within the judicial system, including the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections itself. For the nearly 40,000 incarcerated Pennsylvanians, new approaches to corrections could make a big difference in their experience. For some, they alr

RFK Jr. Pressed to Reevaluate Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Expansion

Mar 06 2025 5 mins

(The Center Square) — Pennsylvania will need to spend $2 billion over the next five years to cover its expanded Medicaid program. And while lawmakers are worried about finding the money to foot the bill, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services insists that doing so will lower costs in the long run. Senate Republicans are not yet convinced and hope the new Trump administrati

The Pennsylvania House Digs Into Big Education Budget

Mar 01 2025 5 mins

(The Center Square) – Education is the second largest spending area in the state’s budget after human services. For legislators on both sides of the aisle, the question that loomed the largest seemed to be, “Are we getting what we pay for?” It was a question that Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe and other officials who sat before the House Appropriations Committee for an

Report: Pennsylvania School Tax Credit Programs Turn Away Half of Student Applicants

Feb 28 2025 6 mins

(The Center Square) – A new report found that despite record-high demand, Pennsylvania turned away nearly half of students applying for educational grants in 2023. That’s because red tape means not every dollar of the $600 million budgeted for the programs can be spent until a business or individual donor contributes in-kind, leaving at least $75 million on the table in Decembe

Pennsylvania Earned Income Tax Credit Gets Another Look

Feb 27 2025 5 mins

(The Center Square) - There are 32 states, red and blue, who offer some version of an Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Pennsylvania isn’t one of them. The House Finance committee met with experts for an informational hearing on why that should change. The hearing largely centered around what are known as ALICE families and individuals, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Con

Maternal and Rural Health, Marijuana Major Priorities in Pennsylvania Health Care Hearing

Feb 22 2025 9 mins

(The Center Square) – "We all just need a little break. It’s been a tough hearing,” said Deptartment of Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen toward the end of her testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Legislators grappled with tough issues - and each other - as they pushed for clarity on the proposed 9.7% budget increase for the state’s primary heal

Higher Education in Pennsylvania Faces Declining Enrollment, Federal Uncertainty

Feb 21 2025 6 mins

(The Center Square) - Appropriations hearings began with Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency taking the spotlight. The committee is undertaking consideration of a 6.5% requested increase in funding for the upcoming budget, a figure they say would enable them to keep student costs down. Tuition has been frozen at its

Hiring Difficulties, Trooper Cap Hamstringing Pennsylvania State Police

Feb 20 2025 5 mins

(The Center Square) – Ongoing political tension means law enforcement agencies across the nation still face hiring challenges. During their budget hearings in the General Assembly on Wednesday, representatives of the Pennsylvania State Police said they are having the same recruitment problems. “It’s speculation on my part, but my best guess is [law enforcement] it’s just no

Bipartisan Push Renewed to End ‘Death by Incarceration’ Sentences in Pennsylvania

Feb 15 2025 5 mins

(The Center Square) – In Pennsylvania, it’s possible to be convicted of murder and receive a life sentence without parole without ever having harmed another person. This is how the state’s felony murder charge, also known as murder two or second-degree murder, works. And some lawmakers think it should change. House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Tim Briggs, D-King of Prussia,