PathWays PA Policy Blog

Over the weekend, Pennsylvania legislators remained in session so they could work on the state budget, which is due June 30. The current budget vehicle has passed the House and is now in the Senate. That being said, Governor Wolf is prepared to veto the budget if it arrives on his desk in its current form, which would send negotiations into overtime. The proposed budget presents a sharp contrast to the Governor's budget, which relies on new revenue including a gas severance tax, an increased personal income tax and increased sales tax. The budget making its way through the Senate, by contrast, shows new revenue from privatizing state wine and liquor businesses and by moving some payments into FY17. Below are some of the line-items in the budget and how they compare between the Governor's and Legislature's proposals. You can learn more at  http://pennbpc.org  and http://www.pennlive.com/pennsylvania-budget . You can also see factsheets comparing the budgets by district ...

One of the best public/private partnerships, Industry Partnerships for Workforce Training , help ensure Pennsylvania's industries and workers have the necessary skills to compete in the global economy. Industry Partnerships (IPs) are coordinated efforts between the state, industries, and local workforce investment boards that target the needs of regional industry clusters. The role of IPs is to identify skill gaps and other workforce needs of the targeted industry sector and to oversee the design and delivery of services to meet those needs. IPs aim to improve job quality by educating workers in skills that pay well and are in short supply, by helping managers learn from each other in adopting competitive human resource practices that improve job quality and career advancement, and by launching training and career initiatives. Since 2005, more than 100,000 Pennsylvanians have participated in Pennsylvania's well-regarded IP programs. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Health...

If passed,  HB 1380 , a bill to drug test benefits recipients who are deemed to have a "high likelihood" of substance abuse, would amend the Public Welfare Code so that benefits applicants would be required to complete a written questionnaire as a condition of eligibility. Applicants who are deemed to have a "high likelihood" of substance abuse would then have to be drug tested. A person testing positive once would be assessed for treatment options, while anyone who is tested positive twice would have their access to benefits suspended for 12 months. Please urge  your legislator to support your community and oppose HB 1380.  Interested in PathWays PA blog posts on similar topics? 6/9/15 - House Bill 222: Good Intentions but Negative Consequences 9/3/14 - Good and Cheap: Free SNAP Cookbook Available for Download 4/24/15 - Great News From Governor Wolf

House Bill 222 , which previously would have imposed a lifetime ban for all people convicted of drug felonies from receiving SNAP/food stamp benefits and other forms of public assistance, has been amended in response to public outcry. Unfortunately, the redrafted bill remains flawed at heart. The bottom line is, access to such basic subsistence such as food should not be banned once someone has completed their prison sentence. While HB 222 now exempts domestic violence survivors  with a documented "judicial adjudication" of abuse , this still leaves out the majority of survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking. Amendments have also decreased the lifetime ban to 20 years, an empty promise for those wanting to rebuild their lives upon release from prison or completion of a drug treatment program. Because there will be a vote this week or early next, prompt action must be taken to stop this flawed bill from becoming law. You can make sure your voice...

King v. Burwell was decided on today by the United States Supreme Court, essentially allowing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to survive by upholding that ACA subsidies should be available in states that don't have their own exchanges. This allows  an estimated 6.4 million Americans to keep the tax subsidies that help them afford health coverage. The key question of the case centered on whether or not the federal government had the right to create an insurance market to help low-to-middle income Americans buy health insurance. Challengers in the case argued that the legislative language of the law only allowed for subsidized insurance in states that set up their own insurance exchanges, and not allowed  in states that relied on the federal marketplace. Thirty-four states currently rely on the federal marketplace - including Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court ultimately rejected this argument. Chief Justice John G. Roberts delivered the majority opinion, writing that "the...

The Equity in Interscholastic Athletics Disclosure Act , passed in 2012 with strong bipartisan support, created a working gender-equity law that requires public secondary schools (grades 7-12) in Pennsylvania to report basic information about their school-sponsored athletic programs once a year. These reports have revealed that Pennsylvania school districts are shortchanging their female students by failing to provide them with sufficient athletic opportunities in proportion to the percentage of female students enrolled. According to Women's Law Project, gender gaps in athletic participation are as big as 18.72% . This law causes the state and communities to face the facts of gender discrimination, data that is otherwise easy to cover up with social constructs. If passed, HB 1112, which came up for a vote in the Education Committee today and was re-committed to the House Rules Committee , could threaten the gender equity law. HB 1112 specifies that the Department of Education s...

Last week, a co-sponsorship memo  regarding the legalization of a new loan product, the “Pennsylvania Financial Services Credit Ladder,” began circulating in the State Senate. This product would essentially allow payday lending in Pennsylvania under Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposals. A payday loan is a small, short-term loan typically due on the borrower’s next payday. Instead of specific assets, the borrower is required to provide the lender access to their bank accounts as collateral, forcing repayment to take priority over important living costs such as rent, health or childcare. Interest rates for payday loans are much higher than secured loans, easily shooting up to triple digits (300-400%). The payday lending industry argues that high rates are necessary as conventional interest rates for lower dollar amounts and shorter terms are not profitable. However, there is no definite way of calculating the annual percentage rate (APR) that is used in turn ...