Moves on the Board: Week of June 23 - 27, 2025

♟️CITY OF PHILADELPHIA

Parker Administration

Mayor Parker concluded her Juneteenth weekend celebrations by participating in the Juneteenth Parade. The parade began at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts and made its way to Malcolm X Park in West Philadelphia.

On Tuesday, June 24, the Bellevue team spotted Mayor Parker at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, where leaders from the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Governor's Office are currently engaged in tense negotiations over the FY25-26 State Budget. More details on the state budget discussions can be found below.

The Mayor maintained a lighter public schedule this week while her administration focused on ongoing contract negotiations with the city's municipal labor unions ahead of the June 30 deadline. The four municipal unions currently at the bargaining table include AFSCME District Council 33 and District Council 47, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 22.

A core tenet of Mayor Parker’s campaign was improving educational opportunities for young people in Philadelphia through extended day and extended year programming. The Parker administration launched the Extended Day, Extended Year pilot program in 25 schools last year. Today, the Mayor announced that the program will add 15 more schools to the program.

Philadelphia City Council

While individual Councilmembers remain busy over the summer months attending to constituent needs, Philadelphia City Council is on summer recess and does not reconvene as a whole body until Thursday, September 11.

Next Week’s Moves

Coming Up: Next week, all eyes move to Harrisburg as the General Assembly and Governor negotiate a state budget.

♟️COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Shapiro Administration

This week, the Shapiro Administration continued to push for the passage of the Governor’s proposed budget priorities by highlighting significant accomplishments the administration has achieved by delivering for Pennsylvanians.

Governor Shapiro celebrated a major win for affordable housing this week, with a ribbon cutting at the new JMB Gardens in Harrisburg. This 41-unit affordable housing development, which was supported by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and developed by former Eagle LeSean “Shady” McCoy, demonstrates the Governor’s commitment to bringing affordable housing directly to communities in the Commonwealth. 

Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Program Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones highlighted the department’s student loan repayment grant program, which, since its inception, has supported more than 650 practitioners in the substance abuse disorder workforce. The Governor has demonstrated his support for this initiative through increased investments in his budget that prioritize growing the healthcare workforce in rural communities. 

Governor Shapiro joined Constellation Energy and Microsoft on Wednesday to discuss the $16 billion deal to reopen Three Mile Island as the Crane Clean Energy Plant. During the recommissioning process, the plant is expected to support 650 jobs and hundreds of building trade positions. It is expected to be operational in late 2027 or early 2028. 

Lastly, the Governor joined 19 other states in suing the Trump administration for arbitrarily cutting federal funding. You can check out the Governor’s statement here. 

📰 Updates from the Governor’s Newsroom

• Senate Confirms Governor Shapiro’s Nominee Jessica Shirley to Lead the Department of Environmental Protection

• Former Governors Schweiker and Rendell, Editorial Boards, and Business Leaders Across Pennsylvania All Support Bipartisan Plan to Fund Mass Transit, Urge State Senate to Act

• Building More Affordable Housing: Governor Shapiro Joins LeSean McCoy to Cut Ribbon on New Affordable Housing Community in Harrisburg

• Shapiro Administration Expands Job Opportunities for Doctors, Nurses, and Physical Therapists by Fully Implementing Multistate Health Care Compacts

• Shapiro Administration Secures $30 Million Investment from Pittston Co-Packers Corp. to Open First American Production Operation and Create Hundreds of New Jobs in Luzerne County

• Governor Shapiro Welcomes Hundreds of Thousands of Fans to Pocono Raceway for the Return of ‘The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA

♟️PENNSYLVANIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The Commonwealth’s Constitutional June 30th deadline to pass a balanced budget is fast approaching. It is no secret that the legislature will miss the deadline as budget negotiations will continue into July. Missing the June 30th deadline is not new to Pennsylvania lawmakers, as a budget deal has been reached after the June 30 deadline for the past 15 out of 20 state budgets. 

Here are a few highlights from the General Assembly’s legislative session this week:

The School Nutrition Association of Pennsylvania hosted a rally in the Main Capitol Rotunda to advocate for the passage of House Bill 180 and Senate Bill 180. These bills would expand the no-cost school breakfast program to include lunches. Universal no-cost breakfast has been a priority of the governor from the start of his administration. George Matysik, the executive director of the Share Food Program, provided impassioned remarks emphasizing the crucial need for no-cost lunch to support students in the Greater Philadelphia area.

• House of Representatives

  • House Bill 564, sponsored by Rep. Tarah Probst, was reported out of the Committee on Rules on Wednesday, June 25. Bellevue Strategies’ client API PA championed it for two years. This legislation will expand public awareness of the mental health crisis response lifeline through a 988 education and marketing campaign. The legislation awaits a final vote on the House floor before heading to the Senate. 

  • House Bill 1650 was reported from the Committee on Housing and Community Development on Wednesday. This bill will establish the PA Home Preservation Program, formerly known as Whole Homes Repair. The legislation would authorize $50 million in state funds proposed in Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget through a competitive process to local entities to fund home repairs for homeowners. The legislation has not yet been referred to a committee in the Senate. 

  • The House passed House Bill 1095 on Monday in bipartisan fashion. This legislation would establish a statewide eviction record sealing policy. Eviction filings stay on public records indefinitely, and twenty other states have already passed laws addressing this issue. The legislation was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

• State Senate

• Budget negotiations are deeply linked with two core issues in the State Capitol: public transit funding and regulating skilled games. Part of resolving the stalemate requires stakeholders to align on the appropriate tax rate for skilled games. Behind-the-scenes discussions became public this week through multiple reports from media outlets.

• The Senate passed Senate Bill 527 on Tuesday. SB527 repeals the Sterling Act, which enables the City of Philadelphia to collect a commuter income tax from non-residents who work in the city but do not reside within city limits. The commuter tax rate is currently 3.45%. This legislation was passed mostly on party lines, with three Democratic Senators – Senators Steven Santasiero (Bucks County), Lisa Boscola (Lehigh & Northampton Counties), and James Malone (Lancaster County) – voting with the Republican majority. SB527 was referred to the House Finance Committee, where it is unlikely to advance. 

• This week, the Senate confirmed Jessica Shirley as the new Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. Secretary Shirley has served as Acting Secretary for the department since 2023. 

• The Governor’s Desk

• One of the few pieces of legislation unanimously passed by both legislative chambers this week is Rep. Kerry Benninghoff’s House Bill 240, which will loosen the hearing aid requirements for school bus drivers. It awaits the Governor’s signature. 

• Sunday hunting will make a comeback in the Commonwealth if Governor Shapiro signs House Bill 1431.

• Legislation to expand overdose mapping in the Commonwealth passed the General Assembly this week. Senate Bill 89 adds emergency medical services (EMS) as required reporters to the state’s Overdose Information Network (ODIN) to collect more data and quickly respond to overdose incidents. 

Next Week’s Moves

Contracts for the City of Philadelphia’s four municipal unions expire on Monday, June 30.⏰

• The City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s fiscal years end on Monday. Happy fiscal new year to all who celebrate!🥳

• The General Assembly is scheduled to return to Harrisburg for legislative session and budget negotiations on Monday, June 30.📜

PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO AMERICA TURNING 249 NEXT FRIDAY, THERE WILL BE NO UPDATE PUBLISHED ON JULY 4.