A lot has changed since 1998, the year that Pennsylvania and 45 states stood up to big tobacco and helped create the Tobacco Settlement Fund, or TSF. Since Pennsylvania hospitals first began receiving money from the fund, it has been used to bolster health care in that state in a variety of ways. Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget plan kept the TSF whole, but The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania is concerned that this year some lawmakers want to use TSF funds to instead pay state debt.

In his budget address, Gov. Tom Wolf stated to applause, “This proposal asks for no new taxes. Not one dime. Not one penny.” Yet, as the General Assembly combs through the governor’s proposal, we find that there are, in fact, tax increases. One specific tax being proposed by the administration is a “double tax” on ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) like the ones in my district. 

Pennsylvania lawmakers unanimously adopted a resolution directing a state panel to study the shortage of mental health care providers in the state, according to a press release from the resolution’s author, state Rep. Jeanne McNeill (D-Lehigh).

Renewable energy experts say a proposal to assist Pennsylvania’s nuclear industry is focused on an outmoded technology at a time when the state should be boosting renewables such as wind and solar. That, at least, is the consensus of experts in the renewable energy field

A Puerto Rican native who moved to the U.S. in 2016, Thais Carrero has put down roots in Central Pennsylvania through community involvement and building her career in state government.