News From 2nd & State
Worth Another Look: 2022 Energy Recap Legislation Enacted Act 54/HB 1421 (Thomas, R-Bucks) amended the Fiscal Code to provide for…
News From 2nd & State
Election Update It took over a week, but the 2022 General Election is finally a wrap in Pennsylvania. The Senate…
News From 2nd & State
Pennsylvania was one of the most watched states in the county on Tuesday. The 2022 General Election was highlighted by…
News From 2nd & State
Weekly Wrap For all intents and purposes, the 2021-2022 legislative session ended this week. Although there are session days scheduled…
News From 2nd & State
Weekly Wrap As the end of the 2021-2022 legislative session nears, the Senate was back in Harrisburg this week for…
News From 2nd & State
Weekly Wrap The hustle and bustle was back at the Capitol this week as the House of Representatives and Senate…
News From 2nd & State
September 16, 2022 Weekly Wrap It was the House of Representatives’ first week back in Harrisburg since the budget passed…
Worth Another Look: Tax Reform Code
The 2022-2023 state spending plan includes H.B. 1342 (Rader, R-Monroe), which is an omnibus bill amending the Tax Reform Code…
Worth Another Look: General Appropriations bill
The Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget consists of $45.3 billion in spending, which is an increase of $1.3 billion (3%) from…
Worth Another Look: Public School Code
Along with the other bills that comprise a completed state spending plan, the General Assembly sent the Governor a bill…
Worth Another Look: Fiscal Code
Each fiscal year, a Fiscal Code bill accompanies the General Appropriations Act. The Fiscal Code provides instructions as to how…
News from 2nd & State
June 30, 2022 Weekly Wrap Although the budget won’t be done before the June 30 deadline, there was still a…
News from 2nd & State
June 24, 2022 Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives and Senate spent the week maneuvering bills in preparation of next…
News from 2nd & State
June 17, 2022 Weekly Wrap The Capitol was buzzing with activity this week as the June 30 budget deadline is…
News from 2nd & State
June 10, 2022 Weekly Wrap As the June 30 budget deadline gets closer, the action at the Capitol continues to…
News from 2nd & State
May 27, 2022 Weekly Wrap As the dust settled from last week’s Primary Election, the House of Representatives and Senate…
News from 2nd & State
May 20, 2022 Election Update Tuesday, May 17 was the Primary Election in Pennsylvania. A majority of the votes have…
News from 2nd & State
April 27, 2022 Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives were in session for three days this week. The chamber got…
News from 2nd & State
April 15, 2022 Weekly Wrap It turned out to be one of the busiest weeks of the year so far…
News from 2nd & State
April 8, 2022 Weekly Wrap The Senate was the only chamber in session this week. On Monday, the Senate came…
News from 2nd & State
April 1, 2022 Weekly Wrap Since the deadline for nomination petitions to be submitted by candidates for the 2022 Primary…
News from 2nd & State
February 11, 2022 Weekly Wrap This week was highlighted by Governor Tom Wolf’s eighth and final budget address. His FY…
Worth Another Look: Schools That Teach
Governor Tom Wolf gave his eighth and final budget address today, and, without saying as much, proposed a $43 billon…
Worth Another Look: Jobs That Pay
Governor Tom Wolf gave his eighth and final budget address today, and, without saying as much, proposed a $43 billon…
Worth Another Look: Government That Works
Governor Tom Wolf gave his eighth and final budget address today, and, without saying as much, proposed a $43 billon…
News from 2nd & State
January 28, 2022 Weekly Wrap It was as busy week in Harrisburg as the House of Representatives and Senate were…
News from 2nd & State
January 21, 2022 Weekly Wrap The Senate was in session for two days this week, their first time back in…
News from 2nd & State
January 14, 2022 Weekly Wrap It was the first session week of 2022 for the House of Representatives. Kicking off…
News from 2nd & State
December 17, 2021 Weekly Wrap As 2021 is winding down, the House of Representatives and the Senate were in session…
News from 2nd & State
November 19, 2021 Weekly Wrap Before a nearly month-long recess, the House of Representatives were in session this week for…
News from 2nd & State
Weekly Wrap This was the last week that the House of Representatives and Senate were in session together until the…
News from 2nd & State
November 3, 2021 Pennsylvania’s Municipal Election took place yesterday. While the results are not final, as votes are still to…
News from 2nd & State
October 29, 2021 Weekly Wrap While last week was relatively quiet at the Capitol, this week was anything but, as…
News from 2nd & State
October 22, 2021 Weekly Wrap It was a short week in Harrisburg for the Senate, as the upper chamber held…
News from 2nd & State
October 8, 2021 Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives were in session for the third straight week. Even though full…
News from 2nd & State
October 1, 2021 Weekly Wrap It was the second week in a row that the House of Representatives and Senate…
News from 2nd & State
Weekly Wrap After a nearly three month recess, the House of Representatives and Senate were back in session this week…
Worth Another Look: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
On July 13, 2021, the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) voted in favor of Final Rulemaking: CO2 Budget Trading Program (25…
Worth Another Look: Fiscal Code
Each fiscal year, a Fiscal Code bill accompanies the General Appropriations Act. The Fiscal Code provides instructions as to how…
Worth Another Look: Administrative Code
An omnibus Administrative Code bill was sent to the Governor as part of the 2021-22 budget package. H.B. 336 (Mackenzie,…
Worth Another Look: Public School Code
Along with the other bills that comprise a completed state spending plan, the General Assembly sent the Governor a bill…
Worth Another Look: Tax Reform Code
Today, the Legislature sent an omnibus Tax Reform Code bill to the Governor for his signature. This is just one…
Worth Another Look: General Appropriations Act
The FY 2021-22 General Appropriations bill provides for $40.815 billion in spending, a 2.6% ($1 billion) increase from last year’s…
News from 2nd and State
June 18, 2021 Weekly Wrap As the June 30 budget deadline looms, the House of Representatives and Senate were in…
Capitol Update – June 2, 2021
Governor DeSantis Signs Budget with Vetoes Governor DeSantis signed the $100 billion state budget today, but not before vetoing $1.5 billion…
News from 2nd and State
May 28, 2021 Weekly Wrap With the Memorial Day Weekend almost in reach, the House of Representatives and Senate were…
Capitol Update – 2021 Legislative Summary
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s Florida Government Relations Team has complied a Regular and Special Session Legislative Summary, linked below, outlining…
News from 2nd and State
May 19, 2021 Pennsylvania’s Municipal Primary Election took place yesterday. Individuals that were successful in the Primary will run in…
News from 2nd and State
May 14, 2021 Weekly Wrap The Senate was in session this week, starting on Monday, when the Senate Communications and…
News from 2nd and State
May 7, 2021 Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives began their session week on Monday, as the House Commerce Committee…
News from 2nd and State
April 30, 2021 Weekly Wrap While the Senate wasn’t in session until Tuesday this week, there were a few hearings…
Capitol Update – April 23, 2021
Budget Update Budget Conference began last weekend with subcommittees meeting to negotiate differences in remaining issue areas. The subcommittees had until…
News from 2nd and State
April 23, 2021 Weekly Wrap As the calendar inches closer to June, and the budget deadline nears, the General Assembly…
Buchanan client, Proterra, hosts President Biden for virtual factory tour
April 20, 2021 Buchanan client Proterra, the leading manufacturer of battery electric buses in America, hosted President Biden for a…
Capitol Update – April 16, 2021
Budget Update As of noon on Friday, legislative leadership has yet to appoint conferees to begin the budget conference process.…
News from 2nd and State
April 16, 2021 2021 Pennsylvania Primary Election Pennsylvania’s municipal primary election will take place on May 18, 2021. Along with…
Capitol Update – April 9, 2021
Budget Update The House and Senate have passed their respective budgets (40-0 in the Senate and 104-14 in the House)…
News from Second & State
April 9, 2021 Weekly Wrap Just the House of Representatives was in session this week. However, the Senate Appropriations Committee…
Capitol Update – April 2, 2021
Budget Update Lawmakers moved closer this week to crafting a FY 2021-22 State Budget. Senate and House full budget committees…
Capitol Update – March 26, 2021
Budget Update Appropriations subcommittees released their respective, initial spending plans this week beginning the budget process that will cumulate in…
News from Second & State
March 26, 2021 Weekly Wrap As the Capitol opened to the public for the first time in 2021, the House…
Capitol Update – March 19, 2021
Following up with our Federal Government Relations (GR) Team’s analysis of the federal stimulus bill passed last week, our firm…
News from Second & State
March 19, 2021 Weekly Wrap Both chambers were in Harrisburg this week for three session days. On Monday, the House…
Capitol Update – March 12, 2021
This week Congress passed another COVID-19 relief package, The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, at a cost of $1.9…
News from Second & State
March 12, 2021 Weekly Wrap This week was the Senate’s turn to hold budget hearings on the Governor’s proposed FY…
Analysis: Congress Passes $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package
Delivering the first major legislative victory for President Biden, Congress passed another COVID-19 relief package that, at a cost of…
News from Second & State
March 5, 2021 Weekly Wrap Budget hearings wrapped up this week in the House of Representatives. Here’s a look at…
News from Second & State
February 26, 2021 Weekly Wrap While budget hearings in the House of Representatives continued this week, the Senate was also…
News from Second & State
February 19, 2021 Weekly Wrap Budget hearings to examine the Governor’s FY 2021-22 budget proposal began this week in the…
Capitol Update – February 19, 2021
Members met this week in Tallahassee concluding the 5 week Interim Committee schedule leading up to the Regular Session beginning…
Capitol Update – February 12, 2021
Friday completes the second to last Interim Committee Week in Tallahassee with one more remaining ( Feb. 15th-19th) before Regular…
News from Second & State
February 5, 2021 Weekly Wrap Due to this week’s snowstorm, session kicked off on Wednesday rather than the usual Monday…
News from Second & State
February 3, 2021 Today, Governor Tom Wolf gave his 2021-2022 FY budget address via video to a joint session of…
Capitol Update – February 1, 2021
Governor DeSantis’ FY 2021-22 State Budget Proposal Governor DeSantis released his budget recommendations for the upcoming 2021-22 Fiscal Year last…
News from Second & State
February 1, 2021 Tomorrow, Governor Tom Wolf will deliver (virtually) his FY 2021-2022 budget address to a joint session of…
News from Second & State
January 29, 2021 Weekly Wrap While the primary order of business of this week was committee reorganization for the 2021-2022…
Guide to Florida Government COVID-19 Resources
Our Florida Government Relations team is actively monitoring legislative, regulatory and administrative changes in Florida related to the novel COVID-19…
Capitol Update – December 2, 2020
Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) announced committee chairs and vice-chairs for the upcoming Legislative Session slated to begin March 2,…
News from Second & State
November 20, 2020 Weekly Wrap This was the last week of session for the 2019-2020 legislative session. New members will…
Capitol Update – November 20, 2020
Lawmakers, both returning and newly elected, returned to Tallahassee this week to participate in the 2020 Organizational Legislative Session where…
News from Second and State
November 13, 2020 Election Update Although Election Day was over a week ago, the results are still considered unofficial as…
News from Second & State – November 6, 2020 – Election Update
As of 1:30 p.m. 99.84% of precincts (in-person ballots) are reporting. 2,518,569 mail-in ballots have been counted (95.71%) and there…
News from Second & State – November 5, 2020 – Election Update
As of 5:30 p.m. 99.98% of precincts (in-person ballots) are reporting. 2,288,277 mail-in ballots have been counted (87.52%) and there…
News from Second & State – November 4, 2020 – Election Update
Although the polls closed in Pennsylvania at 8:00 p.m. last night, the 2020 General Election is far from over in…
Florida Capitol Update – 2020 Election Update and Results
On Tuesday, November 3rd, Americans across the nation exercised our most important right as citizens – the right to vote.…
Florida Capitol Update – 2020 Pre-Election Edition
On Tuesday, November 3rd, Americans across the nation will exercise our most important right as citizens – the right to…
2020 Pre-Election Guide and Analysis – Buchanan Federal Government Relations
Just days before Election Day, and with more than 80 million votes already cast, the outcome of the 2020 general…
News From Second & State: 2020 Pre-Election Edition
Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. In this year’s general election, Pennsylvanians will…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives and Senate held three session days this week to cap off the last scheduled…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap While the Senate was in session for two days this week, it was actions by the Governor and…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The House’s session week began on Tuesday, with the House Health Committee reporting out the following bills: S.B.…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap It was a mixed bag at the Capitol this week, as the Senate was in session on Monday…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap Although the House of Representatives were in session, this week’s news cycle was dominated by the judicial and…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap Summer recess has come to an end in the state capitol, as the Senate returned to Harrisburg on…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap The week began with Governor Tom Wolf signing a second renewal of his 90-day disaster declaration for the…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap While Monday was relatively slow under the Capitol dome, Governor Wolf made news when he vetoed H.R. 836…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap This week started with some big news from the House Republican caucus. Last week, the former Majority Leader…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap As the Commonwealth continues to recover from COVID-19, the Governor announced on Friday that eight more counties would…
News From Second & State
Due to uncertainties in available future revenue due to COVID-19, an early and partial budget is heading to the Governor’s…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap On Friday afternoon, Governor Wolf announced eight additional counties will move to the yellow phase of reopening and…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap On Friday afternoon, Governor Wolf announced that 12 more counties will enter the yellow phase of reopening on…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap On Monday, Governor Tom Wolf provided guidance that details procedures businesses must follow to conduct in-person operations in counties that…
COVID-19 and the Florida Budget
Florida, our nation, and, indeed, the world are facing unprecedented times. The Governor and his team have steadily guided the…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The first steps taken to reopen the state during the COVID-19 pandemic occurred on April 20, when Governor…
News from Second & State – COVID-19 Update
Weekly Wrap Not surprisingly, most of this week’s news continued to focus on COVID-19. On Friday afternoon—at the end of…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives and Senate held session on two days this week, beginning on Monday when three…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap On Wednesday, Governor Tom Wolf and the Secretary of Health finally announced that all 67 counties in the…
News from Second & State – COVID-19 Update
Our Pennsylvania state government relations team is actively monitoring legislative, regulatory and administrative changes in Pennsylvania related to COVID-19. They’ll…
Senate Passes PHASE III of COVID-19 Economic Stimulus Package
The Senate unanimously passed – and the President is expected to sign into law following House passage later this week…
COVID-19: Federal Government Update and Look Ahead
As you are aware, federal, state and local governments are implementing measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Already Congress has…
News from Second & State – COVID-19 Update
Administration Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 response began on March 6, when Governor Tom Wolf announced the first two presumptive positive cases in…
COVID-19: Pennsylvania Statewide Measures and Local Government Initiatives
Administration On March 6, Governor Wolf announced the first two presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, and subsequently signed…
News from Second & State
Both the House of Representatives and Senate will be in session next week for the first voting session days since…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This was the last week of budget hearings, as the House and Senate Appropriations Committees heard testimony on…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The House and Senate Appropriations Committees were back in Harrisburg this week, as they held budget hearings to…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This week was the start of budget hearings, where the House and Senate Appropriations Committees examine the Governor’s…
Worth Another Look: 2020-21 Budget, Jobs that Pay
Once again, Governor Wolf’s annual budget address was highlighted by three themes: “Schools that Teach,” “Jobs that Pay” and “Government…
Worth Another Look: 2020-21 Budget, Government that Works
Once again, Governor Wolf’s annual budget address was highlighted by three themes: “Schools that Teach,” “Jobs that Pay” and “Government…
Worth Another Look: 2020-21 Budget, Schools That Teach
Once again, Governor Wolf’s annual budget address was highlighted by three themes: “Schools that Teach,” “Jobs that Pay” and Government…
News from Second & State – Governor Wolf’s Budget Address
Governor Tom Wolf delivered his sixth budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly. While he didn’t say…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The Senate returned to Harrisburg this week after their winter break, and the first order of business was…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap When the House of Representatives is in session, it’s typically what happens inside the Capitol that garners all…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives’ first voting session week of 2020 kicked off on Monday with the House Environmental…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Welcome back! The legislature returned from the holiday break this week, as both the House of Representatives and…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The final days of the 2019 session schedule came and went this week as members returned to Harrisburg…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap In what seemed like a whirlwind, the House of Representatives and Senate were in session last week for…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap It was a mostly quiet week in state government, with just a few things to highlight: The Commonwealth…
News from Second & State – Municipal Election Results
Yesterday’s Municipal Election was highlighted by local races throughout the state. However, voters across all the Commonwealth’s 67 counties were…
News from Second & State
Another busy session week has come to an end, and the legislature won’t reconvene for voting session until Monday, November…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Convening for three of the relatively few session days both chambers are in session this fall, the House…
News from Second and State: October 25, 2019
Weekly Wrap Convening for three of the relatively few session days both chambers are in session this fall, the House…
News from Second and State
The Week Ahead After a nearly month-long recess, the House of Representatives and Senate are back in session on Monday.…
Worth Another Look: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
On October 3, 2019, Governor Tom Wolf issued Executive Order – 2019-07- Commonwealth Leadership in Addressing Climate Change through Electric…
News from Second & State: September 27, 2019
Weekly Wrap Happy fall! The first week of autumn brought a busy legislature with it this week, as both the…
News From Second & State: September 20, 2019
Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives were back in session this week after a summer recess that lasted more than…
News From Second & State: September 13, 2019
An on-time budget in June brought a quiet summer in Harrisburg, but the dog days are behind us and it’s…
Post-Budget Update
While the budget is always the headliner during the last week of June, plenty of other bills are often in…
Worth Another Look: Tax Reform Code
Wrapping up by the June 30 deadline with time to spare, the General Assembly sent the Governor all of the…
Worth Another Look: Administrative Code
Wrapping up by the June 30 deadline with time to spare, the General Assembly sent the Governor all of the…
Worth Another Look: Public School Code
Wrapping up by the June 30 deadline with time to spare, the General Assembly sent the Governor all of the…
Worth Another Look: Human Services Code
Each year, along with a General Appropriations (GA) bill, the General Assembly will enact several “Code bills.” These bills typically…
Worth Another Look: Fiscal Code
Wrapping up by the June 30 deadline with time to spare, the General Assembly sent the Governor all of the…
Worth Another Look: General Appropriations Bill
The 2019-20 General Appropriations bill (H.B. 790) will make its way to the Governor’s desk after final passage in the…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap It was a busy budget week, but we’re not quite at the end yet. Working against a June…
News from Second & State
We’re at about the halfway point in budget month and while we haven’t seen a lot of work yet on…
News from Second & State
Bills were flying through committees and across chambers this week, as the House of Representatives and Senate held the first…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The Municipal Election came and went with the results bearing no real surprises. The party-backed candidates won their…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This was the final week of session before the June budget ramp up and only the House of…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap For the last time until June, the House of Representatives and Senate were both in session this week.…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This was the first of two weeks where both the House of Representatives and the Senate are in…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap All was quiet on the Capitol front this week, with neither chamber in Harrisburg for any legislative activity.…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This week, only the House of Representatives was in Harrisburg to conduct legislative business. On Monday, the House…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives and Senate were in session, as this week was filled with voting meetings, public…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap With no session days this week, all eyes were on western Pennsylvania, as a special election took place…
News from Second & State
March 29, 2019 Weekly Wrap Contrary to the popular saying, March went out like a lion this week, with three…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Both the House of Representatives and Senate were in session this week, as the first bill of the…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap With budget hearings behind us, it was back to business as usual this week in Harrisburg, with the…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This was the last week of scheduled budget hearings for FY 2019-20. Over the last few weeks, the…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The House and Senate Appropriations Committees were the only show in town, as they held budget hearings throughout…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Things got started a day late for both chambers this week due to the Presidents’ Day holiday. The…
Weekly Wrap
Budget hearings are underway in the House, as the House Appropriations Committee was in Harrisburg for a week’s full of…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap It was a busy week in the state Capitol, with both the Senate and the House of Representatives…
Worth Another Look: Governor’s 2019-20 Proposed Budget
Governor Wolf delivered his 2019-2020 budget proposal to the General Assembly this morning. Wolf’s $34.146 billion spending plan is a…
Worth Another Look: Governor Wolf’s Budget Address
Governor Tom Wolf delivered his fifth budget address today, marrying the themes of his prior addresses – Schools that Teach,…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Both the House of Representatives and the Senate held their first voting days of the new session this…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Happy New Year! On Tuesday, January 1, members of the General Assembly took their oath of office and…
Worth Another Look: Year in Review – Education
There may be no duty of government more important than the education of children. Just in the last four years,…
Worth Another Look: Year in Review – Transportation
When it comes to transportation, Pennsylvania is on both ends of the spectrum. On the one hand, we have some…
Worth Another Look: Economic Development
As Pennsylvania moves toward a 21st-century economy, leaders at the state and local level continue to make efforts to draw…
Worth Another Look: Year in Review – Energy
As science and technology advance, so too does the energy industry. In fact, it may be a misnomer to call…
Worth Another Look: Year in Review – Healthcare
Healthcare is always a hot topic, and so it was in Pennsylvania in 2018. Initiatives came from both the legislature…
2018 General Election Results
Pennsylvania was one of the most closely watched states in the country on Election Day. Redistricting of Congressional seats meant…
News From Second & State
It was a reasonably light session week; since Monday was Columbus Day, the House of Representatives didn’t start their business…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap This week we started down the homestretch of the 2017-18 legislative session. Quick maneuvering has begun to get…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap Both the Senate and the House of Representatives were in Harrisburg for three days of session, making this…
News from Second & State
Summer in the Capitol city has been long and slow, with little activity under the dome since enactment of the…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap As it gets further into the month of June, budget negotiations, like the weather, are beginning to heat…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap As the calendar turns from May to June, the Pennsylvania legislature turns its full attention to the budget.…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Both chambers were in session three days this week, but with a little bit of an unusual schedule:…
Pennsylvania Primary: The Results Are In
Yesterday was Primary Election Day in the Keystone State and key races included the gubernatorial primaries as well as Congressional…
News from Second & State
Last week, the Senate was the only chamber in session. This week, it was the House of Representatives’ turn to…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap It’s been a rare week so far this year when both chambers have been in session and this…
News from Second & State
It was an action-packed week at the Capitol as the House of Representatives and Senate were in session. On Monday,…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap We saw some very early movement on budget-related issues this week, as the House Appropriations Committee reported bills…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This week, only the Senate was in Harrisburg, and only for two days. On Monday, the Senate Appropriations…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This week, only the Senate was in Harrisburg for three days of voting session. On Monday, the Senate…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap It was back to the grind this week, as the House of Representatives convened in Harrisburg for three…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The third and final week of budget hearings began on Monday with an all-day hearing before the House…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee held three budget hearings. The first was with Secretary Patrick McDonnell of…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Since Governor Wolf presented his budget proposal on February 6, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee…
Pennsylvania’s Messy Congressional Maps
Pennsylvania made national headlines this week as the United States Supreme Court denied a stay in a case that requires…
Worth Another Look – Jobs That Pay
Over the last three budgets, Gov. Wolf has adopted the themes of “schools that teach, jobs that pay and government…
Worth Another Look – Schools That Teach
Over the last three budgets, Gov. Wolf has adopted the themes of “schools that teach, jobs that pay and government…
Worth Another Look – Government That Works
Over the last three budgets, Gov. Wolf has adopted the themes of “schools that teach, jobs that pay and government…
Governor’s Budget Address
Today, Gov. Tom Wolf delivered his fourth budget address to a joint session of the Pennsylvania Senate and House of…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap: With only the Senate in town this week, it was relatively quiet on the legislative front. On Monday,…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Both the House of Representatives and Senate were in Harrisburg this week for session for the first time…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Welcome back! After an extended holiday break, both the House of Representatives and the Senate will return to…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap The Pennsylvania General Assembly wrapped up its business for the 2017 calendar year this week, marking the half-way…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Back from this weekend’s Pennsylvania Society festivities, the House of Representatives were back to work on Monday morning,…
Worth Another Look – Gaming Expansion
The legislature recently passed H.B. 271 (Ortitay, R-Allegheny), one of, if not the largest, gaming expansion bills seen across the…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap It was back to business as usual this week in Harrisburg, as the Senate returned for three days…
Worth Another Look: The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs
Today, Governor Wolf issued an Executive Order calling on the Commissioner of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs to…
Worth Another Look: Judicial Election Results
Though voter turnout was quite low for Tuesday’s municipal election (around 25%), women carried the day, at least for the…
Worth Another Look: Judicial Races
Tuesday is Election Day, and though it comes with little fanfare this year, there are still some important races to…
News from Second & State
Budget Update It was a busy week in Harrisburg as the legislature got down to the business of putting the…
Worth Another Look: The Tax Reform Code
Time to raise the roof: a bill to raise the revenue (necessary to fund the 2017-2018 state budget) is finally…
Worth Another Look: The Public School Code
As we make our way toward finally finishing the 2017-2018 fiscal year budget, another “code bill” reached the governor’s desk.…
Worth Another Look: The Fiscal Code
We inched a little closer to a completed 2017-2018 state budget with the House’s final passage of H.B. 674 (Prime…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Beyond the budget, there was some significant legislative activity. First, on Monday the House Education Committee reported out…
Budget Update
The state budget stalemate continues nearly four months after the due date, but this week we finally saw some movement…
Worth Another Look: The Human Services Code
The first and only “code bill” to reach the Governor’s desk this fiscal year is H.B. 59 (Moul, R-Adams), the…
Worth Another Look: The Administrative Code
Pennsylvania has been without a completed state spending plan for the current fiscal year for more than three months now.…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap With a national holiday on Monday and no session for either chamber, it was a quiet week in…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This week brought another false start to the now four-month overdue state budget. All signs pointed toward “go”…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Pennsylvania’s state spending plan for the 2017-2018 fiscal year is long overdue. Yes, we had a “budget” by…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This was the Senate’s first week back from their summer break and it was rather quiet up on…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap As of our last writing, the General Assembly had sent Governor Wolf a budget bill in time to…
Worth Another Look: The Future of Healthcare Reform
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Police-Community Relations
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Affordability of Higher Education
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Fending Off Cyberattacks
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Transportation Infrastructure
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Marijuana, Phase 2
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Planning for ESSA
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Immigration Reform
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Children of the Opioid Epidemic
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Regulations on Review
In January of 2017, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap This was the week of the budget that wasn’t. Just in time to meet the deadline, the general…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Today is the day. On the last day of the fiscal year, the House and Senate are still…
News from Second & State
Weekly Wrap Today marks just one week until the June 30 budget deadline. Seven days. A mere 168 hours to…
News From Second & State
Weekly Wrap As we close out week two of “budget month,” there’s not a whole lot to report on that…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap It is clear in Harrisburg that budget season has arrived. The busy week started on Sunday evening, when…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap It was a quiet week at the Capitol, as the Memorial Day holiday meant no session for either…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap We are now about one month away from the end of the 2016-2017 fiscal year, and if this…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap This week’s big news is not from the General Assembly, but from the Commonwealth’s judicial branch. Candidates in…
Worth Another Look: Municipal Primary Election Results
The 2017 municipal primary election came and went with little fanfare. Perhaps the nerves of Pennsylvania voters needed a break…
Weekly Wrap It was a busy week in Harrisburg, with both the House of Representatives and the Senate here for…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap All was quiet on the Capitol front this week with neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate…
Worth Another Look – Judicial Races
This year’s primary election is just under two weeks away. While most of the elections being held throughout the Commonwealth…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap Pennsylvania’s budget deadline is just about two months away, and the General Assembly got to work this week…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap It was a busy week in Harrisburg with both chambers in session at the same time in over…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap Though the legislature was not in Harrisburg for session this week, there’s still some news you can use…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap Only the House of Representatives were in session this week, but it was a pretty busy week nonetheless.…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap Only the Senate was in Harrisburg for session this week, but it was a busy one nonetheless. Meanwhile,…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap This week was the first time this year that both the House of Representatives and Senate were in…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap Thanks to Winter Storm Stella, the House of Representatives made short work of this week’s session; adjourning on…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap This was the third and final week of budget hearings for the House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations…
Weekly Wrap
Budget hearings were the name of the game again this week, with a few other committee meetings sprinkled in throughout…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap The House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Committees began budget hearings this week to examine Governor Wolf’s proposed…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap This week’s headliner was, of course, Gov. Wolf’s third budget address. Wolf proposed a budget with a modest…
Worth Another Look
Budget Theme: Government that Works As he has in previous years, Governor Wolf highlighted the need for “government that works”…
Worth Another Look
Budget Theme: Schools that Teach As he has in previous years, Governor Wolf highlighted the need for “schools that teach”…
Worth Another Look
Budget Theme: Jobs that Pay As he has in previous years, Governor Wolf highlighted the need for “jobs that pay”…
News from Second and State
Budget Address Edition Governor Wolf delivered his third budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly today. Though…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap It was a relatively quiet week in the capitol with only the Senate in Harrisburg for session. On…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap The capitol was abuzz as the state legislature got down to business this first full week of the…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap The biggest news in Harrisburg this week was the swearing-in of our newly elected row officers. Josh Shapiro…
News from Second and State
Weekly Wrap The holidays have come and gone and folks in Harrisburg are ready to get back to the legislative…
2016 Year in Review
As 2016 draws to a close, so does the 2015-2016 legislative session. On November 30, the House of Representatives and…
News from Second and State
November 16, 2016 Senate Leadership Elections Both caucuses of the Pennsylvania Senate met today to hold their leadership elections. Here’s…
News from Second and State
November 15, 2016 House Leadership Elections Both caucuses of the House of Representatives met today to hold their leadership elections.…
Worth Another Look: Legislative Leadership Elections
Members of the House and Senate will return to Harrisburg for a few days next week to elect their 2017-2018…
Worth Another Look: Post-Election Edition
Election Day has come and gone. Across the country yesterday, Americans cast their votes for offices from President of the…
Worth Another Look: Pennsylvania General Assembly Races to Watch
Election Day is upon us and the presidential campaign described as “long, unusual and often ugly” by The New York…
News from Second and State: Pre-Election Report
The long-awaited General Election is less than a week away, and next Tuesday, November 8, Pennsylvanians will head to the…
News from Second and State
October 28 Edition Weekly Wrap Business for the 2015-2016 legislative session wrapped up this week, though it won’t officially be…
News from Second and State
October 21, 2016 Weekly Wrap: One week down, one to go. This was the second to last week scheduled for…
News from Second and State
October 14, 2016 Weekly Wrap: All’s been quiet on the capitol front since our last writing; neither chamber was in…
News from Second and State
September 30, 2016 Weekly Wrap: For the first time since the passage of the 2016-2017 general appropriations bill, both the…
Worth Another Look: Joint Session on Opioid Addiction
“But in Pennsylvania, the problem is visible—in the lives lost. The families broken. The communities shaken.” – Gov. Tom Wolf…
News from Second and State
September 23, 2016 Weekly Wrap: Yesterday was the first day of fall, and it seems the summer is truly behind…
News from Second and Sate
September 16, 2016 Summer Recap: As of our last newsletter, the General Assembly had recessed after pushing a 2016-2017 state…
Worth Another Look: Sentencing Reforms
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top ten issues that…
Worth Another Look: Electric Vehicle Fees
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top ten issues that…
Worth Another Look: Human Trafficking
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top ten issues that…
Worth Another Look: Anti-Discrimination Legislation
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top ten issues that…
Worth Another Look: Online Voter Registration
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Aging Issues
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top ten issues that…
Worth Another Look: Regulating Drones
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top ten issues that…
Worth Another Look: Regulating Fantasy Sports
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top ten issues that…
Worth Another Look: The Clean Power Plan
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
Worth Another Look: Combatting Opioid Addiction
In January of 2016, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) published a list of the top 10 issues that…
News from Second and State
July 15, 2016 Weekly Wrap: It looks like we have to say goodbye for the summer to the Pennsylvania Legislature,…
Worth Another Look: Amendments to the Public School Code
On July 11, S.B. 1073 (Browne, R-Lehigh) became law without the Governor’s signature. S.B. 1073 is the 2016-2017 General Appropriations…
Worth Another Look: Amendments to the Tax Reform Code
On July 11, S.B. 1073 (Browne, R-Lehigh) became law without the Governor’s signature. S.B. 1073 is the 2016-2017 General Appropriations…
Worth Another Look: Amendments to the Fiscal Code
On July 11, S.B. 1073 (Browne, R-Lehigh) became law without the Governor’s signature. S.B. 1073 is the 2016-2017 General Appropriations…
News from Second and State
July 8, 2016 The news this week is that there is no news. The General Assembly sent a 2016-2017 General…
News from Second and State
July 1, 2016 Budget, budget, budget. While the budget debate was at the forefront of activity this week, there were…
News from Second and State
July 01, 2016 Budget Edition Yesterday marked the last day of the 2015-2016 fiscal year, and the legislature passed a…
Worth Another Look: Amendments to the Human Services Code
Typically when a state General Appropriations (GA) bill for the new Fiscal Year is passed, the legislature considers bills amending…
News from Second and State
June 24, 2016 Weekly Wrap: With the end of the fiscal year looming, it’s been all budget all the time…
News from Second and State
June 17, 2016 Weekly Wrap: The laws of physics tell us that objects in motion tend to stay in motion,…
News from Second and State
June 10, 2016 Weekly Wrap: While there was a lot of activity in Harrisburg this week, the most toast-worthy event…
Worth Another Look: Liquor Reform
June 07, 2016 Much to the frustration of Pennsylvania liquor consumers, wine and spirits are only available for purchase at…
News from Second and State
June 3, 2016 Weekly Wrap: It was a short and very quiet week in Harrisburg, thanks to the Memorial Day…
Worth Another Look: Budget Preview
June is a time to celebrate Father’s Day, countless graduations and the first day of summer. However, anyone involved in…
News from Second and State
May 26, 2016 Weekly Wrap: This was the last week of session before high-budget season starts in June, and all…
News from Second and State
May 20, 2016 Weekly Wrap: Harrisburg was a hive oinally activity this week, with both the House and Senate in…
News from Second and State
May 13 Edition Weekly Wrap: Once again, we only had one chamber in Harrisburg this week. While the House was…
News from Second and State
May 06, 2016 Weekly Wrap: Though only the House of Representatives was in Harrisburg for voting session, and only for…
News from Second and State
April 29, 2016 Weekly Wrap: This week’s big news was the primary election. To see how things shook out in…
Worth Another Look: Primary Election Post-Mortem
Yesterday was Primary Election Day in the Keystone State, and while the presidential races got the most attention by far,…
News from Second and State; Pre-Election Edition
April 21, 2016 With little to report on the legislative front this week, the focus in Pennsylvania is Tuesday’s upcoming…
News from Second and State
April 15, 2016 Weekly Wrap: It was a busy week in Harrisburg this week, and for a change, the singular…
News from Second and State
April 8, 2016 Weekly Wrap: The capitol was a hive of activity this week, with both House of Representatives and…
News from Second and State
April 1, 2016 Weekly Wrap: After all the budget buzz last week, it was a very quiet week in the…
News from Second and State
March 25, 2016 Weekly Wrap: It’s finally over. Yes winter is over, but more importantly, the 2015-2016 budget impasse is…
Worth Another Look
March 23, 2016 Budget Update It would seem that as Pennsylvania budgets go, the fourth time is a charm. Between…
News from Second and State
March 18, 2016 Weekly Wrap: With budget hearings finished and just over a month until the 2016 primary election, the…
News from Second and State
March 11, 2016 Weekly Wrap: The third and final week of budget hearings wrapped up as the anticipation builds for…
News from Second and State
News from Second and State March 04, 2016 Weekly Wrap: The second week of budget hearings have come and gone…
News from Second and State
February 26, 2016 Weekly Wrap: With back-to-back budget hearings from Monday through Thursday, it was a busy week for members…
News from Second and State
February 19, 2016 Weekly Wrap: This week’s biggest news came from the Governor’s Office just this morning. Gov. Tom Wolf…
News from Second and State
February 12, 2016 Weekly Wrap: Both the House of Representatives and the Senate were in session Monday through Wednesday, but…
Worth Another Look: Government that Works
As he did last year, Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing legislative and administrative initiatives for “government that works” which are…
Worth Another Look: Jobs that Pay
Like last year, Gov. Tom Wolf is encouraging the state legislature to provide for “jobs that pay” as part of…
Worth Another Look: Schools that Teach
Standing by last year’s budget themes, Gov. Tom Wolf encouraged the state legislature today to fund “schools that teach.” Warning…
News from Second and State
February 9, 2016 Budget Edition Gov. Tom Wolf delivered his second annual budget address to a joint session of the…
Worth Another Look: GO-TIME
One year ago today, Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order establishing the Governor’s Office of Transformation, Innovation, Management and…
News from Second and State
February 5, 2016 Weekly Wrap: Tuesday was Groundhog Day, and our own Punxatawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, signaling that…
News from Second and State
January 29, 2016 Weekly Wrap: It’s more like News from Second and Snow this week, as a record-breaking snow storm…
News from Second and State
January 22, 2016 Weekly Wrap: With only the Senate in Harrisburg for session, this was a rather quiet week at…
News from Second and State
January 15, 2016 Weekly Wrap: Only the House of Representatives was in Harrisburg for session this week, and it was…
News from Second and State
January 8, 2016 Weekly Wrap: The holidays are over, and the New Year has come. For most, it’s back to…
Worth Another Look: Public Welfare Code Omnibus Amendments
Typically, each fiscal year the General Assembly enacts amendments to the Public Welfare Code as part of a complete budget…
News from Second and State
December 31, 2015 Budget Update The year 2015 has come and gone, and Pennsylvania has yet to see any snow…
News from Second and State – Budget Update
Budget Update: It was all budget all the time this week, but it seems to have been to very little…
News from Second and State – 2015 Year in Review
2015 Year in Review The end of 2015 marks the half-way point of the 199th Legislative Session, and what a…
News from Second and State
December 11, 2015 Weekly Wrap: After nearly six months of a stalemate, this week brought the battle of the budgets.…
News from Second and State
December 4, 2015 There’s been a lot of activity around the state budget the last few days, and it’s hard…
News from Second and State
November 25, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Despite hopes that a state spending plan could be on its way to enactment by…
News from Second and State
November 20, 2015 Weekly Wrap: We have a little bit of a budget update this week: a general appropriations bill,…
News from Second and State
November 13, 2015
Weekly Wrap:
This was a busy week in the Commonwealth’s capitol city, and we’ve got news on a number of fronts. First, at long last, reports this week indicate that there is some movement to shake loose a 2015-2016 state spending plan. This year’s budget, now pushing five months late, could be wrapped up by Thanksgiving according to some lawmakers.
News from Second and State
November 6, 2015
Weekly Wrap:
With Tuesday having been Election Day, all was quiet in Harrisburg this week. For a recap on Tuesday’s big races, check out our blog from earlier this week: https://www.buchanangovernmentrelations.com/news-from-second-and-state-38/
A Look Ahead:
Only the House of Representatives will be in session next week, and a short week at that since Wednesday is Veterans’ Day. Nevertheless, several committees will be convening voting meetings and public hearings. Of note, the House Gaming Oversight Committee will hold public hearings on Monday and Tuesday: at Monday’s hearing they’ll discuss proposed changes to certain gaming license requirements, and on Tuesday, they’ll discuss fantasy sports and sports betting.
News from Second and State
November 4, 2015 Weekly Wrap: One year from now Pennsylvanians will head to the polls to elect the next President of the United States. Yesterday some will say the stakes were just as high, as three new Supreme Court justices were elected to the bench. The seats previously held by Chief Justice Ronald Castille (R), Justice Seamus McCaffery (D) and Justice Correale Stevens (R) were filled by three Democrats. The election of David Wecht, Kevin Dougherty and Christine Donohue give the Democrats a commanding five seats on the seven-member court.
News from Second and State
October 30, 2015
Weekly Wrap:
This week’s big news is as easy as ABC: we’ve got lots of things to report on including the Office of Open Records Chief Eric Arneson, the State budget and a special committee established in the State Senate.
Starting with “A”: the much anticipated decision from the Supreme Court in the case of Arneson v. Wolf was delivered this week, with the court finding that Gov. Wolf did not have the authority to remove Erik Arneson from his post as Executive Director of the Office of Open records without cause. Arneson had been appointed to the post in the waning days of the Corbett administration, only to be removed by Wolf shortly after his inauguration. The high court ultimately acknowledged that under the State’s Right to Know Law, “the OOR is a unique, independent agency charged with the delicate task of applying the Right to Know Law,” and there is a need to “insulate the OOR and its Executive Director form the potential for coercive influence from a governor to accomplish the purpose of the Right to Know Law.”
Worth Another Look: Special Committee on Senate Address
Yesterday, the State Senate assembled a special committee to investigate Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s competency to carry out the duties of her office. In August, Kane was charged with perjury, false swearing, obstructing the administration of law and abuse of office/official oppression, and her law license was suspended just last week.
All of this has called into question Kane’s ability to effectively serve as the State’s highest ranking law enforcement official, and whether or not she should be removed from office. The Pennsylvania Constitution provides two processes to remove a public official from office: impeachment under Article VI, Sections 4, 5 and 6, or removal by the Governor upon recommendation of the Senate under Article VI, Section 7.
News from Second and State
October 23, 2015 Weekly Wrap: As the Fall wears on with still no budget in place, some members decided this…
Worth Another Look: 2015 Judicial Races
There are just about two weeks until Election Day, and while Pennsylvania’s municipal and judicial elections (those held in odd-numbered…
News from Second and State
October 16, 2015 Weekly Wrap: It was a short and sweet session week, since Monday was a national holiday and…
News from Second and State
October 9, 2015 Weekly Wrap: As promised last week, on Wednesday the House of Representatives held a vote on a…
News from Second and State
October 2, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Having both the House and Senate in Harrisburg made for a busy week, and there’s…
News from Second and State
September 24, 2015 Weekly Wrap: The biggest news out of the state legislature this week is final passage of a…
News from Second and State
September 18, 2015 Weekly Wrap: After nearly four months of impasse, the Pennsylvania Senate made efforts this week to enact…
News from Second and State
September 11, 2015 Weekly Recap: This week was a short work-week, and neither the House nor the Senate was in…
News from Second and State
September 4, 2015 Weekly Wrap: We’re moving into the third month of the budget impasse with no real news to…
News from Second and State
August 28, 2015 Weekly Wrap: August is coming to a close, and the Commonwealth still has no spending plan for…
News from Second and State
August 21, 2015 Weekly Wrap: The state was more focused on elections than economics the last two weeks; there was…
News from Second and State: Weekly Wrap
News from Second and State | August 2, 2015 | Weekly Wrap: Harrisburg was generally quiet this week with neither…
News from Second and State
News from Second and State July 31, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Month two of the budget impasse is upon us, with…
Worth Another Look: Upcoming Special Elections
July 29, 2015 There seem to be a record number of special elections being held this year, most of which…
News from Second and State
July 24, 2015 Weekly Wrap: While things were kind of low-key for the General Assembly this week, there were a…
News from Second and State
July 17, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Week two of the budget stalemate is behind us, and there’s very little news to…
News from Second and State
July 10, 2015 Budget Update: As of our July 1 post, the legislature had sent a number of budget related…
News from Second and State
July 1, 2015 Budget Briefing Today is the first day of the new fiscal year, and we are still without…
News from Second and State
June 29, 2015 Budget Bullets It was a busy weekend in the commonwealth’s capital city, and there are about 36…
News from Second and State
June 26, 2015 With both the House and Senate scheduled for session days from now through June 30, it’s hard…
News from Second and State
June 19, 2015 Weekly Wrap: There are just 11 days between now and the June 30 budget deadline, and while…
News from Second and State
June 11, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Despite it being budget season, there was very little budget talk and even less budget…
News from Second and State
June 05, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Monday marked one month until a state budget must be passed. While it’s hard to…
News from Second and State
May 29, 2015 Weekly Recap: It was a quiet week in the capital city, with Monday being a national holiday…
Worth Another Look: Special Elections
Whenever a member of the House or Senate leaves office before their term is over, it is necessary to call…
News from Second and State
May 21, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Neither the House nor the Senate was in Harrisburg for session this week, so the…
News from Second and State
May 15, 2015 Weekly Wrap: This week, each chamber fired its opening salvo in the budget debate, giving us a…
News from Second & State
May 8, 2015 Weekly Recap: It was all hands on deck this week, with two bills to amend the Tax…
News from Second & State
May 1, 2015 Weekly Wrap: You could hear a pin drop in the halls of the state capitol building this…
Worth Another Look: Judicial Races
All rise! As you have likely heard, Pennsylvania will hold judicial elections this year. And with vacancies on the Supreme…
News from Second & State
April 24, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Property tax has been the issue of the day for some time now, and this…
News from Second and State
April 17, 2014 Tax day has come and gone, and while Will Rogers once said that “it’s a good thing…
Worth Another Look: Child Abuse Clearance Update
Are you compliant with the new Pennsylvania criminal background clearance requirements? As of December 31, 2014, employers must obtain certain…
News from Second & State
April 10, 2015 It was a quiet week in the state capitol, with neither chamber in Harrisburg for session. Next…
News from Second and State
April 3, 2015 It was a busy one this week, with the Senate wrapping up their budget hearings and the…
News from Second and State
March 27, 2015 This marks the last week of budget double-trouble; the House Appropriations Committee concluded its budget hearings on…
News from Second and State
March 20, 2014 Weekly Wrap: Monday: This was the first of two weeks of budget hearing double hitters, with both…
News from Second and State
March 13, 2015 Weekly Wrap: The House of Representatives Appropriations Committee held its first round of budget hearings this week.…
News from Second and State
March 6, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Budget, budget, budget. On Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf delivered his inaugural budget address to the…
“We are the state that built America”
This morning, Gov. Tom Wolf presented his inaugural budget to the General Assembly. Calling the proposal “a different kind of…
News from Second and State
February 27, 2015 Weekly Wrap: Since his inauguration on January 20, Gov. Tom Wolf continues to make headlines and set…
News from Second and State
February 20, 2015 Weekly Recap: As another relatively quiet session week comes to a close, our embattled row officers continue…
News from Second and State
February 13, 2015 Weekly Recap: With just over three weeks until Governor Wolf’s inaugural budget address, the questions on everyone’s…
News from Second and State
February 6, 2015 Weekly Recap: Gov. Wolf continued to make headlines this week, this time with his activities in and…
News from Second and State
January 30, 2015 Weekly Recap: Due to the threat of impending Winter Storm Juno, members were scarce in the capitol…
News from Second and State | January 23, 2015
The 2015-2016 session is now in officially in full swing. With the pomp and circumstance of Governor Wolf’s swearing in…
News from Second and State
Just in time for his inauguration today, Governor-elect Tom Wolf announced his selection for additional positions in his administration. Wolf…
News from Second and State
Even though the 199th General Assembly was sworn in on January 6, the real action starts next week with the…
Further from the Wolf Camp:
Governor-elect Tom Wolf has nominated five additional people to Cabinet posts this week and has selected one more member of…
What we know so far about the Wolf Administration
Slowly but surely, Governor-elect Tom Wolf has been rolling out his selections for his executive staff and his nominees for…
The 198th Session Snapshot
As we say goodbye to 2014, we also say goodbye to the 2013-2014 legislative session. And while we’re looking forward…
Transition Committee Members
Governor-elect Tom Wolf recently announced the members of his transition teams. These teams will work with the outgoing administration to…
Pennsylvania Society
There’s a lot of scuttlebutt this week in political circles about Pennsylvania Society weekend. Who’s hosting events? Who’s going to…
General Assembly Leadership Profiles
House Republicans Speaker of the House Elect: Rep. Mike Turzai (R, HD-28) – Allegheny Representative Mike Turzai was first elected…
Leadership Elections to be held on Wednesday
Members of the House and Senate will return to Harrisburg for one last session day on Wednesday and plan to…
Hot Races and New Faces
Given the number of retirements that had been announced, it’s not exactly a surprise that there will be a number…
Now What?
Even though candidates’ election night fatigue has barely set in, the question on everyone’s mind now is “what’s next?” What’s…
The Word on Wolf
Pennsylvania will have a new governor come January. Democrat Tom Wolf defeated incumbent Republican Governor Tom Corbett in last night’s…
2014 Election Bulletin
This Election Day was a busy one in Pennsylvania. Voters hit the polls to decide on the contests for governor,…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap – Week of October 13, 2014
As expected, this week blew through the Columbus Day holiday and into a flurry of legislative activity. Dozens of bills…
From Second and State: Legislative Preview – October 13-17, 2014
After taking the Columbus Day holiday off, members return to Harrisburg tomorrow for their last voting session days before November’s…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap – Week of October 6, 2014
In honor of Columbus Day, the House and Senate are in recess and will reconvene on Tuesday, October 14 at…
From Second and State: Legislative Preview for the Week of October 6-10, 2014
Both the House and Senate will return to Harrisburg this week for the first of two weeks of voting session…
Countdown to Election 2014 – Voter Registration Deadline Approaching Fast
As the legislators return to Harrisburg for the remaining fall session days, one date will continue to be on the…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap – Week of September 22, 2014
The House and Senate are in recess and will reconvene on Monday, October 6 at 1 p.m. Here is what…
From Second and State: Legislative Preview — September 22-26, 2014
The legislature returns to Harrisburg next week for three of the remaining nine days of the 2013-2014 legislative session. While…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap — Week of September 15, 2014
The House and Senate will reconvene on Monday, September 22, 2014. Here’s what happened in Harrisburg this week: Session Returns…
Capital Project Bills to Reduce Spending and Debt Head to House Floor
A bill that would curb spending increases for certain capital projects, and another to reduce borrowing, may be voted on…
Fall Legislative Session Preview
With fall in the air, the General Assembly returns to Harrisburg on Monday, September 15 after a two-month summer break.…
General Assembly Retirement Review: Rep. Stern
As you know, we’ve been plugging away the last month taking a look at who is retiring from the legislature…
General Assembly Retirement Review: Rep. Mundy, Ross and Scavello
Today, we bring to you our next installment in our series taking a look at members of the Senate and…
General Assembly Retirement Review: Rep. Clymer, Haluska and Miller
As we continue our series salute to the members of the legislature who will retire from their seats at the…
They’re Back…Former Members Try to Reclaim Their Seats
No doubt, this election cycle is shaping up to be a hot one. We’ve got an exciting governor’s race that…
General Assembly Retirement Review: Rep. Swanger and Rock
If you have been following us this summer, you know that we are taking some time out to reflect on…
General Assembly Retirement Review: Rep. Miranda and Molchany
The legislature is not in session right now, but we are busy getting ready for the fall session, which starts…
The Expanding Ash Heap of History
By Andrew J. Giorgione, Esq. and Matthew Fine This year marks the 60th anniversary of the historic United States Supreme…
General Assembly Retirement Review: Rep. Haggerty and Kula
While the legislature is not in session, we are taking time during these quieter days to reflect upon the careers…
General Assembly Retirement Review: Rep. Clay and Denlinger
Throughout the month of August, we are taking a closer look at the members of the House and Senate who…
General Assembly Retirement Review: Rep. Aument and Brooks
Retirements are always plentiful at the end of a legislative session. Come the end of 2014, both the House and…
Secretary of the Commonwealth Issues Notice of Three Proposed Constitutional Amendments
WE, the people of Pennsylvania, have been governed by five different iterations of the state constitution since December 12, 1787,…
Budget Season: It’s over, but not…
The General Appropriations bill was passed on time, with the fiscal code bill quickly following in early July. However, in…
#NARUCSummer Kicks Off
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) kicks off its Summer Committee meeting this morning in Dallas, Texas. NARUC is…
Update: Last Night’s Senate Action
Last night, the Senate took much anticipated action on H.B. 278 (Rep. Baker, R-Bradford/Tioga), amending the Fiscal Code, and H.B.…
The Senate’s Sticky Situation
Last week, the Senate passed an amended version of H.B. 278, amending the Fiscal Code, which provides the implementation language…
That’s a wrap – sort of…
Let freedom ring! There has been lots of drama in Harrisburg this week as the legislature and the governor wrangle…
The Lay of the Land – July 2, 2014
While the governor has the general appropriations bill on his desk and is considering his options for signature or veto,…
Governor Corbett’s Next Move
We have a state budget – sort of. Just a few hours shy of the last night’s midnight deadline, the…
From Second and State: Week of June 30 – July 4, 2014
This may be a “Week Ahead” edition, but it is really all about the hours leading up until midnight tonight.…
72 Hours to Spend Billions of Dollars
The June 30th budget deadline is just over 72 hours away. It might seem that three days isn’t very much…
What’s all the Fuss about the Fiscal Code?
As of the last few years, if you’ve been following the enactment of the state budget, you’ve likely noticed that the…
Budget Buzz
With only a few days left until the end of the commonwealth’s fiscal year, all eyes in Harrisburg are on…
Pension Reform Update
As June 30 approaches, the likelihood of an on-time balanced budget remains a question. And while there are many factors…
#HealthyPA Takes the Next Step
By: Tim Costa The governor’s recent announcement that 9 commercial insurers successfully applied to participate in Healthy PA is another…
From Second and State: The Week Ahead – June 23-27, 2014
We’ve turned the corner of the final 10 days before the June 30 budget deadline, so you can expect us…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap – Week of June 16, 2014
The House and Senate will reconvene on Monday, June 23, 2014. Here is what happened in Harrisburg this week: Budget…
P3 Infrastructure Forum
By: Andrew Giorgione My partner Bob Shuster and I recently attended the annual P3 Infrastructure Forum in NYC. Organized by InfraAmericas,…
Governor Isn’t Ruling Out Severance Tax; Budget Bill Introduced in Senate
It might not seem like a lot is happening outwardly to advance the budget right now, but the ball is…
From Second and State: The Week Ahead – June 16-20, 2014
The House and Senate will be back in session Monday, June 16 at 1:00 p.m. As June – otherwise dubbed…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap – Week of June 9
The House and Senate will reconvene on Monday, June 16, 2014. Here is what happened in Harrisburg this week: In…
From Second and State: The Week Ahead – June 9-13, 2014
Both the House and Senate will convene at 1:00 p.m. Monday. If comments made earlier this week by House Appropriations…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap – Week of June 2
The House and Senate will reconvene on Monday, June 9, 2014. Here is what happened in Harrisburg this week: Not…
From Second and State: Session Preview
June 2-6, 2014 After a three-week break for the primary election and the Memorial Day holiday, the House and Senate…
Worth Another Look: Write-In Campaigns
Lauren Orazi | Most candidates for public office in Pennsylvania secure their place on the ballot by following the traditional…
IRRC Approves PUC’s Final-Omitted Regulations Addressing Variable Price Contracts
By Karen Moury | On May 22, 2014, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (“IRRC”) approved by a 5-0 vote the…
IRRC Approves PUC’s Final-Omitted Regulations Designed to Accelerate Switching
By Karen Moury | On May 22, 2014, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (“IRRC”) approved by a 5-0 vote the…
Congressional Primary Results
U.S. Congressional Races Eight of Pennsylvania’s 18Congressional races had contested primaries that challenged either the incumbent’s party nomination or the…
Legislative Primary Results
Republicans stick with Corbett/Cawley ticket. Incumbent Governor Tom Corbett and Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley both ran unopposed in the Republican…
Governor’s Race: A Democratic Primary Primer
Pennsylvania’s primary election will be held on Tuesday, May 20. Gov. Tom Corbett is running unopposed on the Republican ticket.…
Legislative Primary Preview
“Run hard or unopposed” is a common campaign motto. And with the Pennsylvania primary election just days away, it’s worth a…
State Issues Healthy PA Program RFA to Insure 500,000+
The Corbett administration’s efforts on the Healthy PA initiative continue to move forward. Late last week, the Department of Public…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap – Week of May 5
The House and Senate will reconvene on Monday, June 2, 2014. Here is what happened in Harrisburg this week: House…
From Second and State: Session Preview May 5-7, 2014
The House and Senate will be in session Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 5-7. They will then break after Wednesday’s…
From Second and State: Capitol Wrap: Week of April 28
The House and Senate will reconvene on Monday, May 5, 2014. This will be the last session week until after…
From Second and State: Session Preview
The House and Senate return to Harrisburg this week following the Passover/Easter break. They will be in session Monday, Tuesday…
FROM SECOND AND STATE: PA Political Update
Candidates Report Fundraising Efforts March 31marked the end of the campaign finance reporting cycle covering the period from January 1…
Home Healthcare Advocates Honor Secretary of Aging Brian Duke, Senator Pat Vance, and Representative Marguerite Quinn; Twitter Adds to Advocacy Efforts
BAYADA Home Health Care presented their first-ever Champion awards, marking this year’s BAYADA Day in Harrisburg. This new award recognizes…
Capital Wrap-Up for the Week of April 7, 2014
This was the last session week for the General Assembly before the Passover/Easter recess. The House and Senate will return…
PUC Adopts Final-Omitted Regulations to Accelerate Switching Process
On April 3, 2014, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (“PUC”) adopted a final rulemaking order to revise its switching regulations…
PUC Adopts Final-Omitted Regulations Addressing Variable Price Contracts
On April 3, 2014, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (“PUC”) adopted a final rulemaking order to revise its customer information…
Corbett Signs Additional Child Protection Bills
Governor Tom Corbett recently signed into law three bills that would strengthen Pennsylvania’s efforts to protect its children–Senate Bill 24,…
Harrisburg Highlights from Second and State – The Week of April 7
Both the House and Senate will convene for voting sessions Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. On Tuesday, be prepared…
Capital Wrap-Up for the Week of March 31
Scott Wagner Sworn-In The Senate’s newest member, Scott Wagner was sworn in on Wednesday. Wagner won the March 18 special…
Pennsylvania Bio State Official of the Year
Rep. Warren Kampf (R-Chester) has been named State Official of the Year by Pennsylvania Bio. The award recognizes an official…
Harrisburg Highlights from Second and State – The Week of March 31
Session for the House and Senate resumes this Monday. The House will start the week off Monday morning with a…
PUC Chair Powelson Confirmed for Second Term
This week, the Senate unanimously confirmed the re-nomination of Chairman Robert F. Powelson to a second five-year term as a…
PUC Creates Critical Infrastructure Interdependency Working Group
Recently, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) established a Critical Infrastructure Interdependency Working Group. The announcement came in conjunction with…
Next Steps: A Budget Process Primer
Last week Governor Tom Corbett presented his proposed 2014-15 budget to the General Assembly. The $29.4 billion proposal includes the…
2014-15 Budget Proposal Review
Governor Tom Corbett unveiled his $29.4 billion budget proposal today, marking the beginning of the 2014-2015 budget process. The proposal…
PA Bulletin Notices for 2/1/14
Unconventional Gas Well Fees Increase for 2013 Per the requirements of Act 13, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has…
Governor Corbett Releases Pennsylvania’s First State Energy Plan
Governor Corbett today released Pennsylvania’s first state energy plan. The plan, entitled Energy=Jobs, strategically outlines the governor’s plan to embrace…
Washington Office Welcomes Congressman Tom Price, M.D., for a Health Care Policy Briefing
On Wednesday, January 15, the Federal Government Relations group hosted the latest installment in its Speaker Series with a health…
PA Supreme Court Affirms, Expands Commonwealth Court Ruling Striking, Among Other Provisions of Act 13, the Act’s Zoning Limitations
Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down a long-awaited decision in Robinson Twp. v. Com., affirming in part and…
New Emissions Fees Finalized
As a follow-up to the November 8, 2013 post detailing the IRRC’s approval of an air quality emissions fee increase,…
The Federal Shutdown: Immediate Impacts and the Future of National Energy Policy in the Shadow of Government Gridlock
By: James Wiltraut, Jr. and James O’Toole “. . . full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Macbeth to…
Healthy PA Waiver Review
Governor Corbett released his much anticipated Healthy PA waiver earlier today. Today’s release triggers a 30-day public comment period where…
Transportation Bill Signed into Law
On Monday, November 25, 2013, Governor Tom Corbett signed into law a bill that will provide $2.3 billion a year…
House and Senate Spring Session Schedule
The Senate and House this week provided a list of session days scheduled for January through June, 2014. The “NV”…
Redevelopment Assistance Capital Projects
Two bills impacting Redevelopment Assistance Capital Projects (RACP) were recently enacted. House Bill 493 (Gabler, R-Clearfield) was signed by the…
IRRC Approves Air Quality Emissions Fee Increase
At its November 7, 2013 public meeting, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approved 5-0 the final rulemaking on Air…
Incentive Grants for Alternative Fuel Vehicles Announced
The state’s Department of Environmental Protection awarded more than $3 million in Alternative Fuel Incentive Grants (AFIG) to 33 companies,…
DEP Announces Second Round for Act 13 Natural Gas Vehicle Grants
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection announced that the second round of Act 13 Natural Gas Vehicle grants will open on…
Election Results
In a relatively quiet Municipal Election, two Supreme Court justices and two Superior Judges won retention, a new Superior Court…
SB 379 – Benevolent Gesture
Governor Tom Corbett signed Senate Bill 379 into law last week. Known as the “Apology Rule,” S.B. 379 allows healthcare…
Tobacco Settlement Reduction May Impact Health and Human Services Programs
The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General has filed a motion appealing an arbitration panel’s decision to cut the state’s…
Big Names to Participate in Health Insurance Education and Awareness Event
Pittsburghers are invited to come out and learn more about the Affordable Care Act and the insurance options available to…
Gladys Brown Sworn-In as PUC Commissioner
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today welcomed Gladys M. Brown of Dauphin County to the Commission after a swearing-in…
Transportation/Transit Funding Takes Center Stage
A group of 45 business and labor organizations gathered in the Capitol Tuesday afternoon to call on Governor Tom Corbett…
Gladys Brown, PA Public Utility Commission Nominee
Today, the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee held a confirmation hearing for Gladys Brown, Governor Corbett’s nominee to…
Hess’ Passing Leaves Leadership Voids
The sad and unexpected passing of state Representative Dick Hess left vacancies in the 78th District House seat and the chairmanship…
Healthy Pennsylvania
As reported earlier, Governor Corbett today announced a new plan called Healthy Pennsylvania, which is intended to ensure that Pennsylvanians…
Our Take: Governor’s Healthcare Initiative
Commentary As I am sure many of you have heard, Governor Corbett will be making an announcement today regarding his…
HHS-CMS Stakeholder Call
There is a lot of discussion about the rapidly approaching January 1, 2014 deadline for the implementation of the Affordable…
PA Public School Construction Projects Remain On-Hold
PlanCon refers to the process a school district must undertake when it seeks reimbursement from the Commonwealth for a major…
Senate Bill 4 – Clarifying the Qualifications for Purely Public Charity Status
A Supreme Court ruling in 2012 has prompted the General Assembly to start the process of enacting a constitutional amendment…
Final Budget Deal Reached
Governor Corbett signed a $28.375 budget Sunday night, delivering a third straight year of on-time budgets. The bill represents a…
Election Results in Two New Democrat House Members
The Democrats won two special election contests held in conjunction with yesterday’s primary election retaining seats formerly held by Democrats…
Transportation Funding Bill Moves Forward
The Senate Transportation Committee voted to move S.B. 1 (Rafferty, R-Montgomery) to the floor of the Senate on Tuesday. The…
Analyzing Arkansas’ Medicaid Drama
By Timothy Costa, Buchanan Government Relations Professional Earlier this week, after a contentious legislative debate, the Arkansas legislature approved a…
Federal Renewable Energy and Energy Investment Tax Credit Info Released
This week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released guidance on when projects have “begun construction” for the purposes of qualifying…
Delay in Medicaid DSH Payments Could Impact PA Expansion Debate
By Timothy Costa, Buchanan Government Relations Professional The President’s FFY 2014 budget postpones Medicaid cuts to hospitals for a full…
MA Update: Arkansas Plan May Not Be A National Answer
By Timothy Costa, Buchanan Government Relations Professional The Republican-controlled Arkansas State Senate voted today to approve a plan that would…
Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program Simplified
The Department of Community and Economic Development (DECD) announced it has shortened and simplified the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC)…
New Government Reform Caucus Formed
Senator Rob Teplitz (D-Dauphin) and Representative Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) announced the creation of a new bipartisan, bicameral Government Reform Caucus,…
House Approves Historic Liquor Privatization Bill
The Pennsylvania State House passed a liquor privatization bill by a 105-90 vote. The passage of the legislation is considered…
Purely Public Charities Bill Would Allow General Assembly to Set Tax-Exempt Status Standards
A proposed constitutional amendment regarding the standards and qualifications needed to be considered an “institution of purely public charity” passed…
Budget Secretary Zogby Briefs Buchanan Clients
The day after Governor Corbett unveiled his FY 2013-2014 Executive Budget proposal, Secretary of the Budget Charles B. Zogby met…
FY 2013-2014 Budget Proposal
On Tuesday, February 6, Governor Corbett unveiled his FY 2013-2014 budget proposal. Now begins the legislative process of conducting hearings,…
Governor Proposes Business Tax Reductions
As part of his FY 2013-2014 budget proposal, Governor Corbett proposed several changes to the commonwealth’s business tax structure, including…
Increases in Health Care Funding Proposed
Governor Corbett announced proposed increases in programs and services that help individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities, senior citizens and…
Budget Proposal Supports Rural Health Care
Governor Corbett’s FY 2013-2014 budget proposal would increase access to health care in rural and underserved areas by funding community…
Changes at DPW
Secretary of Public Welfare Gary Alexander has resigned and announced his last day will be February 15. The secretary said…
Former PennDOT Secretary Returns
Former Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Bradley L. Mallory will return to the agency as an executive deputy secretary…
Buchanan Shareholder Re-Appointed to Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board Rules Committee
Brian J. Clark, energy shareholder in Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s Harrisburg office, was recently re-appointed to the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing…
Governor Starts to Set Budget Stage
Governor Tom Corbett will unveil his complete budget proposal during his budget address on February 5. While the specifics of…
Special Elections Announced
Speaker of the House Samuel H. Smith (R-Jefferson) announced special elections to fill the vacant 42nd legislative district House seat…
Auditor General DePasquale Names Senior Advisors
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale appointed five senior advisors just before his swearing-in on Tuesday, January 15. DePasquale has tapped Suzanne…
Attorney General Kathleen Kane Names Key Staff
Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced her top advisors, all of whom come with long institutional knowledge of the office. Kane…
PennDOT Proposal to Privatize State Traveler Information System Approved; Additional Privatization Proposals Sought
The seven-member Pennsylvania Public Private Transportation Partnership (P3) Board was created pursuant to Act 88 of 2012, the Public and…
Corbett Administration Reduces DCED Interest Rates
To address a key recommendation of the Governor’s Manufacturing Advisory Council, the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) announced…
New CIO Takes Over for the State
Following the retirement of long-time Pennsylvania Chief Information Officer George White, Governor Corbett appointed Tony Encinias to the position. Encinias…