Tag: coronavirus

Remaining $1.3 billion in coronavirus cash to prop up Pa. state budget rather than help ailing industries

Posted on November 20, 2020 By
Categories: Pennsylvania

By: Ed Mahon

HARRISBURG — Against the pleas of restaurant owners, service providers, and other industries, Republican leaders in the legislature are moving forward with a plan to use all $1.3 billion in remaining coronavirus relief aid to pay for the state budget.

In order to avoid raising taxes or borrowing, the legislature intends to use the federal stimulus money to pay the salaries of state-employed public health and safety frontline workers, according to summary materials provided to House Republican members.

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Pa.’s revenues take another coronavirus blow in May, falling $440 million short of expectations

Posted on June 5, 2020 By
Categories: Pennsylvania

By: Charlotte Keith

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s tax revenues dropped 17% below official estimates in May, new figures from the state Department of Revenue show, as the economic fallout from the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the state’s finances.

Just over half of the roughly $440 million shortfall was due to the economic slowdown caused by efforts to contain the outbreak. The rest represents revenues that have been delayed due to the extension of several tax deadlines, and which the state expects to collect later in the summer.

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Coronavirus case in Pa. Capitol takes partisan rancor over pandemic to new level

Posted on May 29, 2020 By
Categories: Pennsylvania

By: Julia Terruso and Angela Couloumbis

HARRISBURG — The already fraught political fight over the coronavirus in Pennsylvania reached a fever pitch this week.

Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania voiced growing outrage Thursday after the belated revelation that one of their Republican colleagues had tested positive for the coronavirus. Allegations of a cover-up prompted calls for the top GOP House leader to resign and even a push for an official investigation, although that prospect was quickly shot down by the state’s top law enforcement official.

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