Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
Pa. Senate Committee Advances Major Educational Freedom Measure
The Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee advanced Senate Bill (SB) 795, a bill to establish Lifeline Scholarships for children in failing schools. Sponsored by state Sen. Judy Ward, the legislation passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 8 to 3, marking a crucial step toward providing more educational options and protecting vulnerable students throughout the commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Foundation applauds Sen. Judy Ward and Senate leaders for their unwavering dedication to rescuing kids trapped in failing schools. Time and again, Senate Republicans have championed the belief that all children deserve access to a quality education, regardless of their income or zip code. Today is no different.
The advancement of SB 795 represents a significant win in the ongoing fight for educational freedom. But more than that, this movement of the bill marks a crucial first step in state budget negotiations. This committee vote illustrates the Senate’s commitment to Lifeline Scholarships and the immediate relief the program would provide for students struggling in Pennsylvania’s worst-performing schools. These institutions continue to lag behind, despite school district revenue increasing by $37 billion last year alone—and 30 percent since 2013.
Pennsylvania’s permitting system is broken, and Gov. Shapiro needs to fix it
Pennsylvania is hemorrhaging business, jobs, and capital. Gov. Josh Shapiro admitted the problem: Pennsylvania’s excessive regulations. So, why doesn’t he do more to address it?
Fairlife, Coca-Cola’s billion-dollar milk brand, pursued Pennsylvania as a possible location for a new $650 million milk-processing plant set to employ 250 people. However, the state’s permitting system helped sway the company to go with New York instead.
Afterward, Shapiro conceded to dairy farmers, “We learned that we needed to be quicker on permitting.”
Pennsylvania’s permitting system is so broken that the company chose a state ranked second-worst in the nation for business tax climate.
Gov. Josh Shapiro uses Pennsylvania’s state plane much more than his predecessor
The two-engine, eight-seat Beechcraft King Air 350i took off from a small regional airport across the Susquehanna River from Pennsylvania’s state capital at 3:22 p.m. on Aug. 17.
After a two-hour flight, it arrived at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, a ritzy vacation spot known for beaches and golf courses, to meet its passenger — Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The next day, the plane left Hilton Head at 7 a.m. for a flight back to Pennsylvania, bringing Shapiro to Scranton to attend a funeral in his official capacity. It then deposited the Democrat back in South Carolina a little before 3 p.m.
One last two-hour flight returned the plane to Harrisburg, where it arrived around 5:40 p.m. on Aug. 18.
The four-leg journey cost taxpayers just over $13,000, and was the longest and most expensive of 113 trips that Pennsylvania’s state-owned plane made during Shapiro’s first year in office.
Why Shapiro's "Green" Policies Won't Help PA's Environment
Somebody should tell Gov. Josh Shapiro that his state is doing very well environmentally. Overall, the weather has been getting better and agricultural production is up in Pennsylvania.
Nevertheless, he repeatedly attacks the producers and users of energy to address a supposed climate crisis. His administration is trying to keep Pennsylvania trapped in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which the Commonwealth Court ruled as an illegal tax. Recently, he proposed a new energy tax and the expansion of a program to force consumers to buy larger amounts of expensive and unreliable wind and solar power.
Shapiro’s angst may stem from predictions by the state Department of Environmental Protection that climate change induced by emissions of carbon dioxide would lead to extreme weather and environmental harm — including both floods and droughts — and would damage Pennsylvania’s $80 billion agricultural sector.
Yet, nothing could be further from the truth.
Thanks to the Senate Education Committee's passage of a Lifeline Scholarship funding bill, Pennsylvania is one step closer to bringing real educational freedom to parents and students. If you're excited about this development, and a passionate supporter of educational freedom, please check out our podcast School Choice Report, hosted by Commonwealth Foundation Distinguished Senior Fellow David Hardy. You can listen to the latest episode here.
