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Pennsylvania Policy Center

Senate Again Refuses to Fund State’s Most Dire School Districts

By Blog Post, Pennsylvania Policy Center, Press Statement

Senate Again Refuses to Fund State’s Most Dire School Districts – Marc Stier, Executive Director, Penn Policy Center

“The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate came back today for a rare August session. It took a step toward completing the budget by passing a code bill on several uncontroversial issues. However Republican senators have failed to pass a code bill with language that would allow the expenditure of $100 million for Level Up for the state’s 100 least-well-funded schools.

Senate Republicans keep talking about helping kids in so-called “failing schools.” The only schools that don’t provide a good education are those that are underfunded and that, today, they failed again to fund.”

Penn Policy Statement on House Passage of HB 1500, the Minimum Wage Bill

By Blog Post, Pennsylvania Policy Center, Press Statement

Marc Stier, executive director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, released the following statement after the PA House passed HB 1500.

House passage of House Bill 1500 is a major step forward for all working people and businesses in the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanians have been waiting for seventeen years for an increase in the minimum wage and for seven years for the state to embrace a path to a minimum wage of $15 per hour. This long overdue action comes at an ideal time. Employers all over the state are already raising wages to ensure they can find the employees they need. Raising the minimum wage would create a floor under wages that ensures businesses can raise their wages without being put at a competitive disadvantage. Workers making below, and just above, $15 per hour would see their wages go up, which would generate new consumption that would help businesses, create more jobs, and keep our economy growing.

The bill was not everything we hoped for. We expect the General Assembly to return to the issue next year to end the preemption on local governments setting a higher minimum wage than the state level and also to replace the tipped minimum wage with one fair wage.

Despite the limitation of HB 1500, it is a huge achievement. If senators are listening to their constituents, they will pass this bill as soon as possible.

Pennsylvania Policy Center Announces Leadership Team

By Blog Post, Pennsylvania Policy Center

June 8, 2023
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennpolicy.org

Pennsylvania Policy Center Announces Leadership Team
PA’s State Affiliate to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Harrisburg, PA—Today, Pennsylvania Policy Center’s (PPC) executive director, Marc Stier, announced five progressive politics and organizing professionals joined the state’s affiliate to the national Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

In addressing the recent hires, Stier said, “The Pennsylvania Policy Center aims, through its research and policy development, to create the tools that political officials, opinion leaders, grassroots organizations, and the people of PA need to expand our vibrant democracy, secure our freedom, and seek economic justice in Pennsylvania. I am confident the team we have built, and are continuing to build, will see that to fruition.”

New team members include:

Levana Layendecker, Deputy Director / Chief Operating Officer – Levana comes to the Pennsylvania Policy Center with more than twenty years of experience working with advocacy groups and campaigns. She worked for increased access to health care and housing for all, equality for the LGBTQ community, and against climate change. A graduate of the Fels School at Penn, she has a strong background in communications and organizing.

Kirstin Snow, PhD, Communications Director – After having served as the communications director for the PA Budget and Policy Center and the Keystone Research Center, Kirstin brings over 25 years of experience in marketing, advertising, public relations, and crisis communications in the public, private, corporate, political, and non-profit sectors. She was director of communications for Governor Ed Rendell’s administration; and a weekly columnist with a progressive perspective for the Patriot News. She’s worked with progressive and high-level leaders, including President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, and President Bill Clinton.

Adrienne Standley, Deputy Design and Digital Director – Adrienne is a policy nerd with a fine art degree from Arcadia University, and has additional experience in small business operations, management, and e-commerce. In addition to their work with PPC, Adrienne is an LGBTQ+ rights activist and harm reductionist, working in Philadelphia to end the overdose crisis through education and direct supply distribution, as well as advocacy for safe consumption sites and better drug policy.

Jeff Garis, Outreach and Partnerships Director – Jeff is the outreach and partnerships director at the Pennsylvania Policy Center, drawing on his quarter-century of experience working with advocacy organizations in the state. For the decade prior to joining Penn Policy, Jeff worked for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, coordinating advocacy campaigns focused on state and federal policy priorities.

Erica Freeman, Deputy Communications Director – Erica joins PPC with a long history of volunteering and advocacy with a particular interest in racial issues. Before working in public policy communications, she worked in nonprofit fundraising as a researcher and was a copy editor, who worked both independently and for The Philadelphia Tribune. She has a bachelor’s degree In English and creative writing and is a published academic author with a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

www.pennpolicy.org

The Pennsylvania Policy Center aims, through its research and policy development, to create the tools that political officials, opinion leaders, grassroots organizations, and the people of PA need to expand our vibrant democracy, secure our freedom, and seek economic justice in Pennsylvania.