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Time to Stop Losing the Revenue We Need: A Severance Tax is Still a Good Idea
By Diana Polson, Stephen Herzenberg, and Marc Stier Continue reading
STATEMENT on Rep. Joanna McClinton’s New Role as Speaker of the PA House of Representatives
We at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center are thrilled by the vote to elect Representative Joanna McClinton to be Pennsylvania’s speaker of the House of Representatives. Rep. McClinton is not only a dynamic leader but has been a long-time supporter of many of the policies we have put forward. She is also one of the first leaders in the House of Representatives to have endorsed the agenda of our advocacy campaign, We The People–PA. The election of the first Black woman speaker of the House is also a breakthrough moment that, we hope, is another sign of our state’s commitment to overcoming its legacy of white supremacy. We also want to acknowledge the important role Representative Mark Rozzi has played as speaker. His skillful leadership in his first term made this moment possible and led to the passage last week of bills containing a proposed statute and a constitutional… Continue reading
Statement: PA Budget and Policy Center Lauds Passage of PA House Bills on Sexual Abuse
Today the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center applauds the two bipartisan bills passed to allow those who have been past victims of sexual abuse in the state to sue their perpetrators and the institutions that protect them. Legislation creating a two-year window waiving the statute of limitations for these crimes is long overdue. And while we believe that there is no constitutional barrier to such legislation, we are also glad that a constitutional amendment allowing such legislation was passed today, as well, in case the Courts disagree with our analysis of the issue. We congratulate Speaker Mark Rozzi for his leadership on this important, deeply personal legislation. Continue reading
Pennsylvania Budget Outlook: Short-Term and Long-Term
These Are the Rules the Pennsylvania House Needs
Statement on Victory in the Education Funding Lawsuit
We are deeply gratified that Commonwealth Court Justice Renée Cohn Jubelirer has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the education funding lawsuit, which sought to have Pennsylvania’s system of funding K-12 schools declared unconstitutional on the grounds that it did not meet the requirement that “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth” (PA Constitution. Art. 3 section 4). The dry language of law and statistics in Judge Jubelirer’s long opinion fully embraces the moral and constitutional imperative that “every student receives a meaningful opportunity to succeed academically, socially, and civically, which requires that all students have access to a comprehensive, effective, and contemporary system of public education” (William Penn School District et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Education; Memorandum Opinion by President Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer, February 7, 2023, p.… Continue reading
STATEMENT: On the Murder of Tyre Nichols
The murder of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers took place in another state far from Pennsylvania. But it reveals a basic truth about structural racism in policing that sadly characterizes every state in the entire country, including Pennsylvania. Black people are not the only ones who are unjustly attacked and murdered by police officers. But the evidence is clear that they are disproportionately the victims of unjustified police violence. That violence is a product of a deeply flawed approach to public safety, one that asks police forces to maintain order in communities that are afflicted by social ills and economic distress that are beyond their capacity to address. A product of police forces is that, in response to the impossible task placed on them, they can adopt procedures and policies that too often create a toxic relationship between them and the communities they have pledged to serve—one that… Continue reading
Testimony to Speaker Rozzi’s Workgroup on House Rules
Testimony by Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, to Speaker Rozzi’s Workgroup on House Rules. St. Joseph’s University, Friday, January 27, 2023 My name is Marc Stier. I’m the director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, and I live in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. I want to thank you, Speaker Rozzi, and the members of the workgroup for creating this opportunity for the people of Pennsylvania to speak out about the rules of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. This process has been criticized by those who say that it is delaying the start of the legislative session. But what is more important for the House of Representatives to undertake now than to fix the rules that have too often led to undemocratic results in Harrisburg? Our organization believes that there are two fundamental problems with the way the House has operated in the… Continue reading
STATEMENT: Protect Medicare and Social Security
Statement by PBPC director Marc Stier at a press conference with US Representatives Brendan Boyle and Mary Gay Scanlan, and Dan Adcock, policy director of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, held in Philadelphia on January 23, 2023. If you are a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or a political junkie, you probably found yourself alternately transfixed, astounded, and disgusted earlier this month at the spectacle of the Republican House members trying to pick a speaker of the House. And you were subjected to speech after speech by MAGA Republicans who said that Washington, DC, is broken. They kept saying that something was wrong—but they weren’t very specific about it. I want to tell you today what is broken in Washington, DC. What is broken is that one of our two major political parties is dominated today by MAGA Republicans. It’s not just the 20… Continue reading
STATEMENT: On The Inauguration of Governor Josh Shapiro
For Immediate Release January 17, 2023 Contact: Kirstin Snow, Communications Director, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center snow@pennbpc.org Statement by PA Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier on inauguration of Governor Josh Shapiro The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center welcomes our new governor Josh Shapiro. We are gratified that his inaugural address embraced many of the progressive ideals we and he have long championed. We look forward to working in a collaborative way with him, with his administration and with the Democratic and Republican leaders of the General Assembly in support of these shared ideals. Continue reading