
Kara Jeffers
State Capitol Correspondent at WICU-TV / WSEE-TV (Erie, PA)
Reporter at Freelance
A journalist with a hankering for the truth. Erie News Now & WENY Elmira
Articles
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4 days ago |
erienewsnow.com | Kara Jeffers
Democrat Rep. Robert Matzie sponsored H.B. 463 this session. The bill allows for civil lawsuits against second hand sellers of event tickets, specifically when they sell a ticket for a seat that is not actually available. These secondary sellers will give a refund if that happens— but some lawmakers argue the inconvenience is worth penalizing. HB463 passed the Pennsylvania House on June 4 with 191-11 votes in favor. It now sits in the Senate’s Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee.
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1 week ago |
erienewsnow.com | Kara Jeffers
Pennsylvania’s Senate Republicans are on the clock to pass a bill regulating skill games— in time for the tax from any new regulations to be included into the state budget’s revenue estimates. Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro budgeted revenue from skill games into his 2025/26 budget proposal delivered in February. Shapiro’s policy proposed a 52% tax rate on the gambling machines, the same rate as other similar forms of gambling in the state.
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1 week ago |
erienewsnow.com | Kara Jeffers
State leaders say Pennsylvania’s budget will be late. Divides over public transit, skill games, and final spend numbers have kept negotiations cordial but slow. Pennsylvania’s fiscal year restarts, annually, on July 1st. So there’s a legal obligation to pass a state budget by June 30th. House Democrats and Senate Republicans must work through their differences (and the influence of campaign donors and advocates) to decide how to spend your tax money.
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1 week ago |
erienewsnow.com | Kara Jeffers
Pennsylvania lawmakers have weighed in on political violence and personal safety in Harrisburg this week-- following the targeted shooting that killed a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband over the weekend. Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman, and her husband, were shot and killed on Saturday in a targeted incident. Another Minnesota state senator and his wife were also shot by the same suspect on the same day.
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1 week ago |
erienewsnow.com | Kara Jeffers
Every year, Pennsylvania lawmakers are supposed to pass a state budget by June 30; which allocates how the state’s general fund (~$49 billion right now) is spent for the next fiscal year. Most year’s, Pennsylvania lawmakers are late. This year, some Pennsylvania senators are saying “… what if we wait?"Senate President Kim Ward, a Republican from Westmoreland county, recently floated the idea of a 6 month stop-gap budget.
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Today’s “give a crap” video. Featuring a squirrel. #pennsylvania #news #stategovernment #journalism #groundhog #sincerelykaralove https://t.co/bn8UOuLFrY

The article side to the arrests today. #journalism #news #protests #ada #sincerelykaralove https://t.co/2Dlltib7Jn

“ it’s Tuesday, I’m exhausted, three people got arrested” I’m just saying, this is some of my finest work. (It’s definitely not). #pennsylvania #journalism #news #stategovernment #sloth #Senate #House #sincerelykaralove https://t.co/JHDC5xVVov