Pennsylvania Perspective for Monday, June 22, 2026

Pennsylvania

PA Lawmakers Share Priorities Ahead of the Budget Deadline

As the June 30 budget deadline approaches, Pennsylvania’s rank-and-file legislators shared their district priorities in recent interviews with abc27. Although the House passed a version of Governor Josh Shapiro’s proposed $53.2 billion budget, expectations for an on-time agreement remain low as the Republican-controlled Senate pushes back against the governor’s spending increases. Democrats highlighted public education and childcare as top priorities, while Republicans expressed skepticism over the fiscal plan, criticizing its significant spending increases and the proposed withdrawal of approximately $4.7 billion from the state’s rainy-day fund.. Click here for the full interviews.

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Governor Shapiro Demands Oversight Inspection at ICE Facility

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has called for an independent, comprehensive inspection of the Moshannon Valley Processing Center after facility staff denied entry to Clearfield County commissioners and state Department of Corrections professionals who attempted an unannounced oversight visit. The 1,900-bed immigration center, operated by the private firm GEO Group under an active contract with Clearfield County, faces heightened scrutiny regarding internal operations, medical neglect, and the overuse of solitary confinement, concerns previously echoed by federal lawmakers who were also restricted from bringing language interpreters inside. The facility transparency dispute emerges just months before the county’s operating agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expires in September. A new report also reveals that ICE is planning to sell off or give away two recently purchased warehouse spaces in Berks and Schuylkill counties that were originally slated for mass detention expansion. 

PA Unemployment Rate at 4.2%, Under National Average

According to the May 2026 preliminary employment situation report released by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, the commonwealth’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.2% for the fourth consecutive month. This figure mirrors Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate from May 2025 and remains below the steady national average of 4.3%. The state’s civilian labor force expanded by 19,000 residents over the month, climbing to a record high of 6,626,000 individuals actively working or seeking employment. Total nonfarm payroll positions also reached a peak of 6,209,500 after adding 9,000 jobs in May, with gains recorded across seven of eleven major industry sectors. The education and health services sector led the monthly expansion by adding 4,300 positions, securing its own record high and contributing to a year-over-year surge of 37,200 jobs, while the construction sector experienced the month’s sharpest reduction, declining by 1,700 positions.

Philadelphia

Court Approves Federal Replacement of President’s House Slavery Exhibits

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the Trump administration holds the statutory authority to remove and replace existing exhibits on slavery at the President’s House historic site in Philadelphia. The decision overturns a previous federal district court injunction obtained by the City of Philadelphia, the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, and The Black Journey walking tour after National Park Service personnel initially dismantled the signage without warning. The local groups had argued that changing the exhibits, which detail the lives of nine enslaved people kept by George Washington, violated cooperative municipal agreements intended to explore the historical paradox of freedom and slavery. Writing for the appellate panel, Judge Thomas Hardiman clarified that the city possesses no property or contractual rights to curate the site, while noting that the federal government’s planned replacement panels adequately maintain the necessary historical context regarding the injustices of slavery. The legal resolution allows the National Park Service to update the site’s installations just weeks before expected crowds arrive in Philadelphia to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. 

City Leaders Lobby Harrisburg to Support Public School Modernization Plan

Mayor Cherelle Parker, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, and School District Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. traveled to Harrisburg to secure state funding for the city’s public school system ahead of the June 30 state budget deadline. The delegation hosted a joint rally at the Capitol Rotunda to solicit capital dollars for a $3 billion facilities plan aimed at modernizing 169 aging school buildings over the next decade. This trip follows a municipal budget cycle where City Hall leaders compromised on a $216 million five-year pledge to restore 340 classroom jobs previously slated for elimination due to a $300 million structural deficit. Since Philadelphia is the only school district in Pennsylvania that cannot independently raise its own taxes, local officials are leaning on state-level collaboration, though securing multi-million dollar capital allocations may prove difficult as Governor Josh Shapiro and a divided, reelection-facing General Assembly manage a broader multi-billion dollar state budget shortfall.

OPA to Issue New Residential Property Valuations

The Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment (OPA) is preparing to distribute new residential property valuations to homeowners, signaling expected real estate assessment increases for a majority of properties across the city since the last municipal revaluation over two years ago. These newly adjusted figures will dictate the final calculations for regional property tax bills due in March 2027, leaving residents searching for ways to review or offset potential increases. Legal and civic experts note that homeowners who suspect assessment inaccuracies have access to two parallel, cost-free appeal options that do not require an attorney: a First Level Review for an informal administrative recalculation by the OPA within 60 days of mailing, and a formal administrative appeal with the independent Board of Revision of Taxes ahead of a state-mandated October 5 deadline. To directly insulate low-to-middle-income homeowners and long-term occupants from subsequent displacement or financial strain, the city continues to provide a menu of tax-mitigation safety nets including the $100,000 Homestead Exemption valuation reduction, the Longtime Owner Occupants Program (LOOP) valuation cap, and permanent real estate tax freezes for qualifying low-income residents and senior citizens. 

Pittsburgh

Allegheny County Council Proposes to Remove Charter Spending Cap

The 15-member Allegheny County Council could vote as early as Tuesday on a pair of proposed ballot measures designed to remove the long-standing 0.4% spending cap embedded in the county’s Home Rule Charter. The proposed charter amendments, which would require final voter approval in the November election, would allow council members to utilize public funds to secure taxpayer-funded benefits, hire individual staff, and lease dedicated district offices. This legislative push comes exactly one year after the county implemented a 36% property tax increase to stabilize its finances. 

School Districts Push for Guardrails on Proposed Paid Parental Leave Policy

The Allegheny County Health Department is evaluating a paid parental leave proposal that would mandate 18 weeks of paid leave for any individual employed in the county for at least 30 days. While supporters maintain that the benefit promotes family health and employee retention, local school districts and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit are raising concerns regarding its potential financial and logistical impacts on public education. Under the current framework, school systems would be forced to pay absent educators while simultaneously funding long-term substitute teachers, a compounding expense intensified by a chronic statewide substitute shortage. Administrators also express concern over classroom learning disruptions and ambiguous policy language that could inadvertently grant permanent job protections to temporary substitutes. In response to these concerns, several regional districts are preparing to submit amendments, including a request to extend the employment eligibility requirement to 12 months, before the extended July 16 public comment deadline closes.

Cozen Corner

In-Conversation w/ Howard Schweitzer: Wharton Professor Judd Kessler on Hidden Markets, Incentives & the Systems Shaping Society

Judd Kessler—author of Lucky by Design, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, and a leading voice in behavioral economics—joins Howard Schweitzer, chief executive of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, for a conversation on the “hidden markets” and incentives shaping modern life. Drawing on his research at the intersection of behavioral economics and real-world decision-making, they explore how “hidden markets” influence opportunity, power, leadership, and institutional outcomes across business, government, and society. To watch click here or to listen click here.

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