First Read PA – Oct. 31, 2023

WEATHER: Philadelphia: partly sunny, high of 53; Harrisburg: mostly sunny, high of 51; Pittsburgh: areas of frost then mostly cloudy, high of 44.

FROM CITY & STATE:

* The chair of the state House Judiciary Committee said yesterday that the panel will vote on a proposal on Nov. 14 that would amend the state constitution and lower the vote threshold required for the state Board of Pardons to recommend commutations for those with sentences of death or life imprisonment.

* As state lawmakers are grappling with how AI is used in the public sector, they’re also in charge of how to regulate it. City & State took a look at some of the ways Pennsylvania officials are looking to address the rise of artificial intelligence, as well as some other options they may want to consider.

NEW THIS MORNING:

* Millions more dollars are flowing into Pennsylvania’s race for an open state Supreme Court seat, as labor unions, trial lawyers and billionaires are spending heavily in the campaign to influence a court that has been pivotal in major election-related cases in the presidential battleground, The Associated Press reports.

* Pennsylvania’s Election Code was written nearly 100 years ago, and some of its provisions are even older than that. A review by Spotlight PA and Votebeat found that in many cases, the updates lawmakers have made have created inconsistencies and points of confusion.

* An effort supporters say will boost transparency in several leading commonwealth universities passed the House of Representatives yesterday, while the universities’ annual state subsidies remain snarled in the Legislature in a partisan funding dispute, the AP reports. 

* Crime in Philadelphia has come to dominate the discourse in the county’s district attorney’s race, in which incumbent Jack Stollsteimer – the first Democrat elected district attorney in county history – will face off against Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski, a former prosecutor in that office, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. 

* Former Philadelphia budget director Marisa Waxman has been named executive director of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, an important but little-known state-controlled agency that oversees city finances, the Inquirer reports.

* Nine advocacy groups have concerns that the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office is failing to prosecute sexual assault crimes in cases where the alleged assailant and victim had a previous relationship, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. 

* Former Philadelphia electricians union leader and convicted felon John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty is headed to the federal courthouse in Center City this week to face charges that he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars, Billy Penn reports.

* The state House of Representatives yesterday voted 201-1 to give final approval to a bill that repeals a section of the state’s school code from 1949 that penalized a teacher for religious displays and held the school board liable if they failed to enforce that mandate, PennLive reports. 

* Philadelphia Councilmember Quetcy Lozada wants police to more aggressively enforce drug laws in Kensington, and she may soon have an ally in the mayor's office, the Inquirer reports. 

* U.S. Steel unveiled a new battery-powered locomotive for its Clairton Coke Works near Pittsburgh yesterday. The company is switching two of the 10 locomotives it uses in its local operations to electric from diesel-powered, the Allegheny Front reports. 

EDITORIAL PAGES:

* The Inquirer endorses Judge Matt Wolf for Commonwealth Court, stating that he brings a refreshing humility to the bench even as he is unafraid to take on tough challenges.

* The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website, Care Compare, may be better than nothing, but those star ratings tell a story of a lot of facilities that need to improve.

NATIONAL POLITICS:

* In the latest chapter in an expanding legal struggle over border security, a federal judge in Texas ordered federal Border Patrol agents yesterday to stop cutting concertina wire that had been placed by the state along the Rio Grande to deter migrants from crossing from Mexico, The New York Times reports. 

* References to “climate emergency” and “climate crisis,” once used primarily by activist groups like the U.K.-based Extinction Rebellion or the U.S.-based Sunrise Movement, are spiking in the academic literature. Meanwhile, scientists’ communication to the media and the public has gotten more exasperated – and more desperate, The Washington Post reports.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Robert Arena, outreach director for state Sen. Jarrett Coleman … Want to wish someone a happy birthday in our newsletter? Email their name, job title and upcoming birthday to editor@cityandstatepa.com.

MOVING ON: Former state Rep. Jenn Mann and Allegheny County public affairs veteran Anthony Costa have joined One+ Strategies … Have a career change or life event to announce? Email us: editor@cityandstatepa.com.

TODAY’S SKED:

9:30 a.m. – The House Housing & Community Development Committee meets, Room 523, Irvis Office Building, Harrisburg. 

10 a.m. – Pittsburgh City Council meets, Council Chambers. Watch here.

1:30 p.m. – Pittsburgh City Council meets for a discussion reviewing the Climate Action Plan, Council Chambers. Watch here.

2:30 p.m. – Gov. Josh Shapiro will join members of the Women’s Health and Black Maternal Health caucuses to sign Senate Bill 262 into law, Governor’s Reception Room. Watch here. 

Call of Chair – The House Appropriations Committee meets, Room 140, Main Capitol. Watch here.

Call of Chair – The House Judiciary Committee meets, Room G50, Irvis Office. Watch here.

Call of Chair – The House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee meets, Room 515, Irvis Office. Watch here.

Call of Chair – The House State Government Committee meets, Room 60, East Wing. Watch here.  

KICKER: 

“You’re reading a legal book that doesn’t necessarily present it in a very organized (way) and you're just flipping through it.” – Lycoming County election director Forrest Lehman on the state’s election code, via Spotlight PA