August 21, 2015

Weekly Wrap:

The state was more focused on elections than economics the last two weeks; there was very little progress on the state budget, but five new members of the Pennsylvania House have been voted into office.

On August 4, two special elections were held: one in Cumberland County  (HD-87) and one in Delaware County (HD-161). In Cumberland County, Greg Rothman (R ) was elected to replace Glen Grell (R), who recently resigned to take a top job at the Public School Employees Retirement System. Meanwhile, in Delco, Leanne Krueger Braneky (D)  was elected to replace Rep. Joe Hackett (R), who retired from the House earlier this year to return to his law enforcement roots in Delaware County.  While the balance of power remains the same in the PA House, Krueger Braneky’s election is a plus one for House Democrats.

A week later, on August 11, there were three special elections in the Philadelphia area. In the 191st House District, Joanna McClinton (D) defeated Charles Wilkins (R ) to replace Ron Waters (D), and in the 195th House District, Donna Bullock (D) defeated Adam Lang  (R ) to replace Michele Brownlee (D).  Both Waters and Brownlee resigned amid a “pay to play” bribery scandal.

In the 174th House District, Ed Neilson (D) defeated Timothy Daley (R) to replace John Sabatina, who now represents that area of Philadelphia as the State Senator for the 5th Senatorial District. Neilson, however, isn’t exactly a new face in Harrisburg. In 2013, both Neilson and Sabatina were seated House members.  Redistricting, however, merged their two neighboring districts, which would have pitted them against each other in the 2014 primary. At that time, Neilson opted to run for (and was elected to) Philadelphia City Council, and Sabatina ran for and kept the House seat. Shortly after, Sabatina ran and won a Senate special election to replace Mike Stack, who resigned from the Senate upon being elected Lieutenant Governor. Sabatina’s resignation from the House made that seat available again, and Neilson used it as an opportunity to return to Harrisburg. A happy ending for all in the City of Brotherly Love.

We welcome all new members to Harrisburg—and welcome Neilson back—and wish them well in their new positions.

Turning to the budget, while there’s been no real progress in reaching agreement on a state spending plan, the House and Senate Republicans presented the governor with a new budget proposal this week. The plan, which would increase spending for public education, a win for Wolf, and provide for pension reform, a win for the GOP, is either an olive branch or an ultimatum, depending who you ask.  We expect budget talks to continue through the coming weeks.

For more, go to: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/08/pa_state_budget_talks_intensif.html#incart_m-rpt-2

A Look Ahead:

The House of Representatives has scheduled session for Tuesday. During the earlier part of the day, they plan to swear in the new members and could possibly hold a voting session that afternoon. The Senate has yet to reveal its plans for next week.

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