Radio Times Pennsylvania Political Roundtable

Air Date: June 28, 2012

Hour 2

The Pennsylvania state budget’s deadline is tomorrow and the cuts proposed for the $27.3 billion limit, set by Governor Tom Corbett, are controversial. So far, state university funding is untouched, and a block grant for public schools and kindergarten programs is safe. Proposed cuts in the $150 million general assistance program are projected to hurt the state’s most vulnerable 68,000 recipients, who receive $205 a month. This week, the state’s House of Representatives approved drilling on state-owned lands, including state college campuses. And Governor Corbett is championing a tax credit for the building of a petrochemical plant to boost the economy and stem job growth. Meanwhile, the Liquor Control Board’s judges work habits are under scrutiny, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on immigration and President Obama’s recent so-called Dream rule will have ramifications on Pennsylvania’s immigration laws. The new voter identification law is in the news again as House Majority Leader Mike Turzai spoke of the new regulations helping GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, help win the state of Pennsylvania. Joining us to talk about Pennsylvania politics is JOHN BAER, political columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, and LAURA OLSON, Harrisburg Bureau chief for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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[audio: 062812_110630.mp3]

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