Moves on the Board: Week of August 11 - 15, 2025
Denotes a Bellevue Strategies client.
A Quick Federal Update
The National Association of Counties has released an analysis report of the local cost of recent federal cuts from the “One Big Beautiful Bill”. If you’ve been following The Bellevue Compass, you know that we’ve covered the cuts and contents of the bill from top to bottom, but we wanted to share the NACO’s report with you, too.
The introduction:
“The recently enacted legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-25), and President Trump's Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget request signal significant changes to the federal, state and local government partnership. While counties collaborate with federal and state partners to deliver essential services, several changes — aimed at reducing federal costs — will shift financial and administrative costs onto subnational levels of government. In a complex intergovernmental structure, these subnational governments, including counties, could see a downstream effect approaching $1 trillion over ten years.1 This removal of longstanding federal funding sources and federal cost shift represents a fundamental swing in the intergovernmental partnership, potentially pushing counties to choose between cutting services or raising local taxes.” - Via the National Association of Counties Report: The Big Shift: An Analysis of the Local Cost of Federal Cuts
♟️CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
It was a quiet week in the city government as leaders turned their attention to state budget negotiations where transit, education, and human services funding hang in the balance — more on the state budget below.
♟️COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Shapiro Administration
Governor Josh Shapiro and Lt. Governor Austin Davis each spent time over the past week advocating for critical funding for mass transit across the Commonwealth. The General Assembly spent the week debating a budget deal, specifically for transit services. Lt. Governor Davis attended a press conference in Pittsburgh advocating with Pittsburgh Regional Transit and Washington County Transportation Authority, and the Governor was in Philadelphia at a press conference with SEPTA. They each emphasized the economic impact these two regions provide for the Commonwealth, and the importance of transit services that over one million Pennsylvanians rely on daily.
On Monday, there was an explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works, tragically killing two workers and injuring 10 others. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board sent a team to the facility to investigate the cause of the explosion. Governor Shapiro joined Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato for a press conference to address the event.
📰 Updates from the Governor’s Newsroom
Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs Announces 2025-27 Commissioners
Governor’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs Announces 2025-27 Commissioners
Governor’s Advisory Commission on AAPI Affairs Announces 2025-27 Commissioners
Congratulations to Ahmina Arshad, Vice Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, for being named to the Commission!
♟️PENNSYLVANIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
On Monday, August 11, the House passed its fifth transit funding package, Rep. Dougherty’s House Bill 1788. The bill would increase the percentage of the Sales and Use Tax dedicated to public transit from 4.4% to 6.15%, generating an estimated $292.5 million for the Public Transportation Trust Fund. The bill would also allocate .25% of the Sales and Use Tax for the newly established Road and Bridge Sinking Fund. This would provide an estimated $41.8 million for the fund. HB 1788 would also provide $325 million in bonding authority for roads and bridges. Additionally, the bill provided new accountability measures for SEPTA and Pittsburgh Regional Transit. The Senate declined to take up HB 1788.
On Tuesday, August 12, the Senate responded to the House’s passage of HB 1788 by amending Rep. Neilson’s HB 257 to reflect the Senate Republicans’ transit funding mechanism. HB 257 was amended to include a two-year, $1.2 billion funding for transit and infrastructure needs. The package would temporarily reallocate funding from the capital project fund of the Public Transportation Trust Fund for operational cost usage. That temporary funding would be supplemented by approximately $43 million per year from interactive gaming tax revenues.
On Wednesday, August 13, the House Rules Committee met to discuss the amended HB 257. Chairman Bradford discussed the funding inadequacies of the bill and the risks associated with failing to fund public transit properly. SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer told the Committee that the Senate-passed proposal is not “sustainable.” The bill failed on a party-line vote, with Democrats voting in the negative and Republicans in the affirmative.
Without a funding resolution in place, SEPTA is moving forward with 20% across-the-board service cuts beginning on August 24.
Next Week’s Moves
While nothing is set in stone and the session schedule could change instantly, as of this writing, the General Assembly is not scheduled to return to legislative session next week. However, House Democrats are holding several policy committee meetings in Philadelphia in the week ahead.
Monday, August 18 - Protecting Pennsylvanians Act
Tuesday, August 19 - Public hearing on food insecurity
Wednesday, August 20 - Public hearing on 2026 safety and security
♟️On The Trail: Pennsylvania’s 2026 Elections
City Races
Philadelphia District Attorney
After losing to Democrat Incumbent Larry Krasner in the May primary, Patrick Dugan has announced he will run as a Republican for District Attorney. During the primary election, Dugan received enough write-in votes on the Republican ballot, which will allow him to run in the general election for the party.
Federal Races
Pennsylvania’s 13 Congressional District
Beth Farnham, Adams County Democratic Committee Member, who ran for and lost this race in 2024, has announced she will run for the party’s nomination to challenge Incumbent Republican Congressman John Joyce. She is a life-long resident of Adams County and previously served on the Conewago Valley School District Board. Farnham was previously a registered Republican but switched affiliations to Democrat in 2019.