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News: Pennsylvania has a budget, four months late, after lawmakers passed a $50.1 billion deal that continues to fund public schools, creates a tax credit for working families, reforms permitting, and pulls the state out of a plan to cap carbon emissions from power plants.

Per multiple sources: Both House Democrats and Senate Republicans have closed door meetings at 4 p.m. today as the Pennsylvania state budget hits 134 days late. Details of what will be discussed therein is still unclear.

Last update until full reports are in (still could be a few weeks): DoS reports $9.2 million in IE spending on the retention race as of this afternoon; $5.1 million of the reported spending is anti, mostly by two conservative, Yass-linked dark money groups.

Anywho, amid all this, here's the latest update I got: Shapiro and Democrats may agree to end a statewide program to cap carbon from power plants to appease Senate Republicans and end the 130+ day budget impasse. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/11...

And now: Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) emailed his caucus, telling them to "pack a bag" and be prepared to return to Harrisburg as soon as Tuesday evening pending ongoing budget talks.

Inbox: The Pennsylvania House has scheduled NON-VOTING session for tomorrow and VOTING session for Wednesday.

As it is now Friday and neither chamber has scheduled session to finish off a budget deal, I'll go ahead and share this exchange I had with a source earlier this week:

Upshot of the municipal election? Four sitting state lawmakers won local seats, meaning four special elections in the coming months. Those elections will be at least ~70 days (the Speaker has up to 10 days to issue a writ + minimum 60 from that date) after each's resignation.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin), still mulling a gubernatorial run, shared a post from Christine Flowers with an old Politico story and the statement that if "Stacy Garrity and PA Republicans...throw pro lifers under the bus" then Gov. Josh Shapiro will win reelection.

In your inbox, if you subscribe to Access Harrisburg: My way-to-early takeaways on the 2025 election from a day of talking to voters. What were they? Welllllllll that's a good subscribe!

BREAKING: Starbucks workers have just authorized a massive strike. Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%. Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.

State Rep. Chris Rabb (D., Philly) has reintroduced a bill to allow for ranked choice voting in Pennsylvania. It has the support of five other Democrats. www.palegis.us/legislation/...

Inbox: Montgomery County, a wealthy suburb of Philadelphia, reports nearly 50% (!!!!) turnout in yesterday's off-year judicial and municipal election.

News: Three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices first elected as Democrats have won new terms in a race marked by millions of interest group spending and increased polarization of what were previously pro forma affairs.

This update puts my total spending estimate around $20.5 million - the most expensive state supreme court retention election in decades and possibly ever. Overwhelming majority of that money is pro-retention

Update: Independent expenditures on retention are now at $8.6 million and counting, per the DoS system. The newest addition is approximately $3 million in spending by Commonwealth Partners, the Yass-linked dark money group, on TV, mail, digital and texting opposing the justices.

If the game hits 2am Eastern the score is reset to an hour before and everyone has to repeat exactly what they did to preserve the space time continuum, thems the rules

This is true. I am very glad the Commonwealth is taking action where it can, but the charitable food system still needs a lot of help trying to serve folks in need given the size and scale of the problem. Find your Feeding America food bank here:

House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philly) on Shapiro's food banks funding: "As two million Pennsylvanians – including hundreds of thousands of children – were at risk of going hungry, Governor Shapiro exercised real leadership to find a responsible solution."

Inbox: Gov. Josh Shapiro has announced he is giving $5 million in state dollars to food banks as SNAP funds hit a wall, and has raised an addirional $1 million in private dollars for food banks from the likes of Mark Cuban and Thomas Tull.

The latest on budget talks: These are the first in-person, five party conversations since June 30, a source told @spotlightpa.org They were convened by Shapiro. What's on the table, what progress has been made, or timelines for completion are unclear. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/10...

Update: Reported IE spending jumped to $5 million overnight because Citizens for Term Limits is now in the system. It's first and only report so far is for $1.8 million in TV, digital, mail and text advertising against retention dated to 9/16/25 from Matt Brouillette.

Remember the voter registration issues in three Pennsylvania counties right before the 2024 election? @votebeat.org reports that the issue was third party canvassers who, following pay incentives, submitted incomplete and inaccurate forms. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/10...

Update: As of ~2 p.m., there is now $2.8 million in reported independent expenditures on the Supreme Court retention elections. That's $1.2 million more since we first published. Much of it is digital ads from pro-retention groups.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris (D., Philly) wants to require that the state treasurer loan DHS money to pay for SNAP amid the federal shutdown to replace federal dollars. www.palegis.us/house/co-spo...

"You could drive a Mack Truck through the loopholes in Pennsylvania’s campaign finance rules," election law attorney Larry Otter told @spotlightpa.org @stephenjcaruso.bsky.social @katiemeyer.bsky.social www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/10...

Counted 17 House and Senate Democrats at a progressive rally for package of bills to "tax billionaires." Specifically, they want a tax on unearned income, on digital ads, and an end to a collection of tax loopholes.

Cannabis CEO (and former heavyweight champion of the world) Mike Tyson is in the state Capitol talking to lawmakers about the commonwealth's stalled legalization push.

Morning everyone. Pennsylvania's budget is 121 days late. Lawmakers are on their third straight day with both chambers in voting session. In person closed door talks between all parties have occurred the last two days. Those leaders are saying nothing publicly. So, we wait.

I track spending in state supreme court races, and PA's races are some of the hardest to track in the country. Thanks to @spotlightpa.org for explaining why.

Despite weeks of ads on Pennsylvania's Supreme Court retention elections, public reports are missing some big political spenders. The culprit? The state's loophole ridden system for reporting independent political spending. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/10...

My colleague @katehuangpu.bsky.social reports that a similar meeting has taken place this morning. "We're working," President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) told reporters after she left.

Pennsylvania's budget is 120 days late, and schools across the commonwealth are starting to feel the pain. In response, they are cutting programs and taking on debt -- and payments on the latter will likely mean cuts in the future. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/10...

Leadership from all the legislative caucuses (Senate, House; R & D) just entered Governor Shapiro's office.

Morning everyone. Pennsylvania's budget is 119 days late. Gov. Josh Shapiro spent the weekend campaigning in New Jersey and Virginia. Both chambers return to Harrisburg for three voting days -- and 39 scheduled fundraisers.

BTW, in case you noticed the comments from state Rep. Jake Banta (R., Erie), here is his email in full:

Pennsylvania lawmakers have held at least 133 fundraisers in the 115 days since the June 30 budget deadline came and went -- with another 39 planned for next week -- while also taking at least two official trips abroad to Quebec and Ireland. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/10...

House Parliamentarian Dave Brogan sent an email to the chamber yesterday saying that "while we certainly enjoy the spirit of the season, the House has important legislative business scheduled for the upcoming week," so "costumes, as fun as they may be, are strictly prohibited."

What do you do in this situation? Wrong answers only

One of the funniest parts about this video is Manuel (Bonder, the governor's spokesperson), didnt leave Shapiro World. He just now is fully on the political side rather than working in the state Capitol as an official spokesperson. www.instagram.com/reel/DQHonUK...

New, in your inbox, if you subscribed to my newsletter for @spotlightpa.org: A dark money group has been quietly boosting Gov. Josh Shapiro's profile this year. Plus, some other notes, quotes and tidbits to cut through the noise of Harrisburg.

Chester County (PA) America 250 chapter posted that CSA president Jefferson Davis was a "visionary" inspired by the Declaration of Independence, mirroring language it posted about Abraham Lincoln. The cause? An intern using AI, the chapter claims. whyy.org/articles/che...

News: In a pair of bipartisan votes, the GOP-controlled state Senate passed two priority bills, one streamlining permitting and another blocking PA's entrance into a program capping carbon emissions from power plants, amid the 100+ day budget impasse. They go to the state House.

Gov. Josh Shapiro is publishing a book titled "Where We Keep The Light" in which he "reflects on what he has learned along his journey knocking on doors, serving his community, and bringing people together to tackle the tough problems we face." apnews.com/article/josh...

Good morning everyone, the Pennsylvania state budget is 112 days late -- one of just two state's without a spending plan, and the only one to not pass any stopgap funding. The state Senate is in session this week. Closed door talks continue.

good news! Claude no longer tries to kill people if you put it in extreme situations. bad news! It does this because it knows it's being tested. assets.anthropic.com/m/99128ddd00...

Hi all. I’m launching a newsletter with @SpotlightPA. Starting next week, you can get the latest on Pennsylvania government & state politics right to your inbox featuring the same mix of reporting and silly jokes that likely helped you find me on ye ole bird app. www.spotlightpa.org/newsletters/...

Amid the budget impasse, state Sens. Marty Flynn (D., Lackawanna) and Joe Picozzi (R., Philly) want to add a 10% sales tax to "online adult content platforms" on top of the state's existing 6% rate, ensuring "that these platforms contribute their fair share to the Commonwealth."

Reminder: Pennsylvania's budget is 100+ days late as Ds & Rs remain far apart on a spending plan, enmeshed with gubernatorial politicking over a program by GOP candidate/treasurer Stacy Garrity. All the while, nonprofits are taking on debt to keep their doors open.