Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters . One of Pennsylvania’s two U.S. Senate seats is up for grabs in 2022 as two-term Republican incumbent Pat Toomey prepares to step aside and the state braces for a particularly high-stakes election year . The Senate opening has drawn plenty of interest from Democrats looking to shore up a narrow congressional majority, Republicans looking to limit key aspects of the B ..read more

This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat , a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — Redistricting reform supporters in Pennsylvania are having a moment of disappointing déjà vu. In 2020, after advocates held rallies and won the public, bipartisan support of some lawmakers, the Republican-controlled legislature effectively killed their proposal to create an independent commission void of elected officials who could unfair ..read more

HARRISBURG — Cities and townships hoping to ban plastic bags within their borders may finally have the legal authority to do so in Pennsylvania. When the Republican-controlled legislature passed the state budget last week , it didn’t renew a statewide preemption on single-use plastics, opening the door for cities and municipalities to approve new prohibitions or enforce existing bans. Officials and activists from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh hailed the decision as a win for curbing the environmental impact of plastic . Philadelphia and some of its surrounding townships had filed suit to challeng ..read more

This article is made possible through Votebeat , a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy . HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House passed an election overhaul bill Tuesday that creates stricter voter ID requirements and early voting in 2025, despite opposition from most Democrats and a promised veto from Gov. Tom Wolf. The state Senate is poised to take up the measure in the coming days, but Republican lawmakers in the chamber are charting a separate path that would ..read more

This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat , a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — A key state Senate committee agreed Tuesday to put guardrails on how Pennsylvania lawmakers draw congressional maps, while stripping out proposed limits on how the General Assembly’s own districts are drawn. The bill, which passed on a near party-line vote in the chamber’s State Government Committee, diminished anti-gerrymandering advocat ..read more

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters . HARRISBURG — As people around the country celebrate Pride month, Gov. Tom Wolf again called on the state’s Republican-led legislature to pass non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Pennsylvanians. Joined by Democratic lawmakers on the steps of the Capitol, Wolf on Tuesday said the legislation, dubbed the Fairness Act, is “long overdue.” “I gotta say, as a native Pe ..read more

This article is made possible through Votebeat , a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy . HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Republicans in the state House advanced their proposed election overhaul legislation Tuesday over the strong objections of Democrats, who called it an attack on voting rights. With the same partisan acrimony that has marked voting issues in Harrisburg since before the 2020 election, lawmakers in the House State Government Committee took turns lamba ..read more

This article is made possible through Votebeat , a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy . Pennsylvania Republicans proposed a sweeping overhaul of the state’s election system Thursday, with lawmakers in the state House calling for stricter voter identification requirements, in-person early voting, signature verification of mail ballots, and other major changes. State Rep. Seth Grove (R., York), chair of the House State Government Committee and House Republicans ..read more

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters . HARRISBURG — “I feel like I am a sinking ship right now.” “Next month will be a year that they have been putting me through this.” “I just need some help, I am about to be homeless.” “Please help.” The unemployed in Pennsylvania — pregnant people, parents unable to pay child support, nursing students, and adult children caring for disabled parents, among many others ..read more

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters . HARRISBURG — After refusing to release details about wasted coronavirus vaccine, citing a decades-old disease prevention law, the Wolf administration has reversed course and made public how many doses have been discarded by providers and why. The data show just 0.18% of more than 10 million doses given to hospitals, pharmacies, and other providers through May 21 were ..read more