HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Tax-averse Republican lawmakers trying to address Pennsylvania’s massive budget shortfall are hitting a rough patch over how much more gambling to legalize. Tuesday is the fourth-to-last day of the fiscal year, and leaders of the House and Senate Republican majorities remain behind closed doors discussing spending and revenue plans.
Senate Republican Leader Jake Corman says the House GOP won’t sign off on gambling legislation unless it allows slot machine-style video games at thousands of bars, truck stops and liquor license holders. Supporters say the machines will raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the state and local governments. But Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says it’ll hurt revenue from the Pennsylvania Lottery and licensed casinos.
The Senate backs a narrower proposal that includes online casino gambling and online lottery play.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says he’ll sign a bill giving police departments discretion to refuse public requests for copies of audio or video recordings by officers. The Democrat says he’ll sign a bill that cleared its last legislative vote in the Senate on Tuesday. The Senate’s vote was 49-1. The bill covers all audio and video recordings by officers, including from body cameras and dashboard cameras.
It exempts recordings from requests under Pennsylvania’s open-records law, although a court could still order the release of a police recording. Law enforcement organizations support the bill, which also clears legal hurdles for police departments to expand the use of body cameras. The bill is opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which says it’ll be nearly impossible for the public to obtain video.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — New penalties for people who misrepresent themselves as military veterans in order to get financial benefits are going into effect in Pennsylvania. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday signed into law a bill that punishes those who falsely claim to have served in the military or received military decorations in order to obtain money, property or other rewards.
The governor says Pennsylvania is home to more than 900,000 veterans. He says false claims about being a veteran offend real veterans and the public. he bill’s provisions take effect in two months.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Officials say a research center at Penn State University aiming to prevent child abuse and improve treatment should open in a few months. A university spokeswoman told The Daily Item the school is targeting September for the opening of the Center for Healthy Children. The center, which was announced in April, will be supported by nearly $8 million from the National Institutes for Health and more than $3 million from the school.
The program will supplement the university’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, established in response to the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. The network will continue its work in education and outreach, while the new money will be purely for research. Penn State made battling child abuse an institutional priority after the former assistant football coach’s arrest and conviction on charges he abused 10 boys, some on campus.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The mayor of Pittsburgh says he is thankful to be listed by a magazine as one of the country’s most interesting mayors but disputed the idea that he’s jockeying for higher office. Bill Peduto tweeted his response Sunday after being featured in the Politico Magazine article. He was listed alongside leaders of cities including Los Angeles, Boston, Denver and Miami.
The article explored the mayors’ potential futures and suggested that Peduto might be eyeing a run for some other office. But the Democrat told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he has no interest in that. He said he plans to run for re-election this year and possibly seek a third term in 2021. After that, he said, he would look outside politics.
