New: Pennsylvania legislators are looking at either levying new taxes on, or axing tax exemptions for, Big Tech to bring in new revenue. But such efforts won't be enough to balance the budget, and must overcome powerful special interests to implement. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/06...

News: A GOP-controlled Pennsylvania Senate panel advanced a bill to implement an employee payroll tax funded state program guaranteeing 20 weeks of paid family leave for the commonwealth by a 9-2 margin. It now heads to the full chamber.

News: A bill to place a 5% gross receipts tax on companies that sell digital ads in Pennsylvania to fund property tax relief has passed the state House by a bipartisan 139-63 margin in the lead up to the state's June 30 budget deadline.

Due to an almost decade old deal, Philadelphia City Council faces a choice between paying $200 million now to buy the city's police HQ amid a bitter budget fight or pay double the rent in future years to an influential city landowner. www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...

News: House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) said in an interview that he supports this proposal. "These are the biggest, most profitable companies that are bringing data centers and all of the challenges to our commonwealth. 100% they should pay their fair share."

News: A bill to levy a 5% tax on digital ad sales revenue in Pennsylvania has passed out of a Democratic-controlled House committee along party lines. Supporters say it raises millions from big tech companies but opponents say the cost will be passed on to consumers.

ICYMI: A bill requiring all Pennsylvania school districts to ban the use, but not possession, of cell phones by students by the start of the 2027 school year passed the state House 126-75. It goes to the state Senate, which already passed a similar proposal.

Nine of Pennsylvania's biggest data center projects will be excluded from Shapiro's plan to tie fast tracked permits and a tax break to higher environmental and transparency rules because they were underway before his announcement. www.pennlive.com/news/2026/06...

Inbox: Per the Department of Revenue, Pennsylvania enters June with $45 billion in revenue, about $1 billion more than projected but still billions short of what most spending plans call for.

Good morning everyone. It's June 1st-- officially budget season in Harrisburg. Both chambers are in session for the next two weeks for a mix of important procedural shuffling and busy work as closed door talks intensify before the June 30th deadline.

A new law signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro last month will allow the state to again update its codes governing accessibility via regulation rather than legislation, closing a loophole opened by a 2022 court ruling. Because sometimes, the legislature does meaningful stuff.

Inbox: Gov. Josh Shapiro is calling for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to place new conditions on data center development, requiring his proposed transparency, energy, wage and environmental standards in exchange for qualifying for an existing multi-million tax break.

A patchwork of municipal and state rules for approval of new projects is partially to blame for Pennsylvania's slow growth in housing, developers, citing think tanks and experience, told a House GOP panel last week. Via @wdownard.bsky.social \ penncapital-star.com/housing/pa-z...

It looks like Bookhaven will make it to 40 years after all. The beloved Fairmount bookstore will reopen under new ownership.

ICYMI: GOP gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity is calling for Shapiro to follow up on a 2022 campaign pitch to provide a gas tax rebate to state drivers. He offered in the early days of the race and spiking gas prices from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Some nuance: Both Democratic CD-3 nominee Chris Rabb and Robert Saleem Holbrook, executive director of the Abolitionist Law Center, haven't fully echoed DA Larry Krasner's call for Bob Brady to resign as Philly Dem chair, instead emphasizing structural reforms.

An anecdote from Election Day: I was at the Back Mountain Regional Emergency Service Facility. It's a decade old building on a scenic hilltop that houses fire and ambulance services for a rural swath of Luzerne County, just outside Dallas, Pa. (Pics don't do the view justice)

Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) told @katehuangpu.bsky.social that he isn't planning on advancing any bills regulating PA data centers right now, arguing instead that the state should "make sure that we're competing against our neighboring states."

Inbox: Senate Republican's campaign arm says that the primary results show that voters understand that the incumbents "have the courage to stand up for the needs of [PA] families and the integrity to prioritize Pennsylvanians concerns while navigating a divided government."

Meant to say earlier: This race remains uncalled by the AP, and incumbent Ana Tiburcio has not yet conceded. In a statement last night, she said she's still waiting for the final tally. And "whether in Harrisburg or in Allentown, my work for this community is certainly not done."

If my work over the past 24 hours has proven useful, enlightening, entertaining and/or informative, may I humbly suggest you sign up for my newsletter, Access Harrisburg? It's a weekly missive with what you need to know about PA state government and politics. www.spotlightpa.org/newsletters/...

"Chris Rabb is an accomplished, five-term state Senator who has delivered real results for northwest Philadelphia" says the DNC in a statement congratulating him on his primary victory. Welp!

Update: Looks like Pinsley claimed victory and Merkl-Gump conceded last night.

The only uncalled state Senate primary is the 16th Senate District Democratic race. It pits Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley against Bucks County teacher and school board member Bradley Merkl-Gump. Pinsley leads by 8 with just 6% of the vote left.

I can comfortably say that Win for PA (sports betting/iGaming firms) and Citizens Alliance (skill games) spent approximately $9 to $10 million on these races. Win for PA spent the most, approximately $6.6 million.

Much can still change. These are unofficial results. But the incumbents currently losing, all in the House, are: -Bud Cook (R., Fayette) -Ana Tiburcio (D., Lehigh) -Keith Harris (D., Philly) -Greg Vitali (D., Delaware)

Working Families Party is claiming victory for Gerlach in my inbox. "This victory belongs to the people: to everyone who voted, knocked on doors, made phone calls, and spoke with their neighbors about the importance of this election," she said in the release.

Democrats have made a rural York County special election to replace state Rep. Seth Grove very competitive. I don't know the district's political geography well but it's neck and neck at 55% in.

PA legislative election results thread starting below ⬇️

If I had a nickel for everytime I had car troubles on election day I'd have two nickels. Which isnt a lot, but it's weird it happened twice.

Morning everyone! It's primary day in Pennsylvania; Polls open at 7 a.m.. There's little to decide at the top of the ticket, but registered Rs and Ds across the commonwealth will decide some key congressional and state legislative primaries. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/05...

When does a lawmaker's official capacity begin and their campaign capacity begin? Both Josh Shapiro and Stacy Garrity gave us tests cases recently.

Have you noticed a deluge of ads bashing or venerating candidates running for state legislature? If so, you are witness to a slugfest between gambling interests with big implications for who calls the shots in Harrisburg. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/05...

Lmao

A (hopefully) last note on the mailer fight. I was shown mailers that specifically cited Steve Santarsiero's support for the 2024 anti-BDS bill targeting colleges. I also asked Santarsiero and Pinsley if being anti-Zionist is antisemetic. Below are their answers:

you really do have to PDF all your shit. none of these companies can be trusted to keep it live, even (especially?) when they have the kinds of resources Disney does

New: Sports betting firms and skills game have spent $8.1 million and counting on Pennsylvania primaries, mostly for or against three GOP state senators. It's the latest in a war over both gambling laws and the ideology of the Senate Republican caucus. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/05...

Here is opponent Mark Pinsley's response to the mailer. He said he has "not seen anything in the mailer that I would personally label as anti-Semetic." He said "they are mentioning" Santarsiero's support for a bill to punish colleges that boycott Israel but it isn't cited.

Inbox: The 5,000 strong faculty of Penn State, including faculty members across all departments, full-time and part-time, and at the main and satellite campuses, have unionized with SEIU Local 668. The union says its the largest public sector win in 50 years.

New: Two Lehigh Valley Democratic primaries show the growing divide in the party over how to accomplish change -- through big ideas forcefully argued, or chipping away with meaningful compromise. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/05...

The records of Chris Rabb and Sharif Street, facing off in a primary next week, show two different visions of how to effectively legislate. @samjanesch.bsky.social www.inquirer.com/politics/pen...

Inbox: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht, first elected as a Democrat in 2015 and retained last year, says in a statement he is "no longer registered within any political party," because "acquiescence to Jew-hatred is now disturbingly common" in the Democratic Party.

News: The White House has nominated State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin), an arch-conservative lawmaker from central Pennsylvania and an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 2022, to be the US Ambassador to the Slovak Republic.

Per a source, the Democratic Governors Association is hosting a fundraiser with Gov. Josh Shapiro at the PGA Championship in Delco next month. Tickets start at $15k a pop.

News: A bill to modernize Pennsylvania's accessibility standards by empowering a board to recommend changes to its construction code is on its way to Gov. Josh Shapiro's desk after passing the General Assembly with near unanimous support.

Over the weekend, Life PAC, a western PA group that opposes abortion, released its voter guide. Among its endorsees is Pat Catena, seeking the Democratic nod in the open 45th House District. The district's retiring Democratic incumbent, state Rep. Anita Kulik, is also pro-life.

Prediction market purveyor Kalshi fined three federal candidates for wagering on themselves. One, a former reality TV star running in Virginia, said he did it on purpose as a viral marketing stunt and wants to regulate the industry. www.wired.com/story/us-sen...

Inbox: Conservation Voters of PA is critical of a potential agreement from the Shapiro admin to keep open two western PA power plants. "While other states...are lowering their energy prices by moving aggressively to bring new wind and solar energy online, Pennsylvania remains stuck in the past."

In a Broad & Liberty story attacking the Philly Inquirer's editorial decisions, Stacy Garrity's campaign stated their comms strategy for the coming months:

ghoulish