Pennsylvania State Legislature Meatgrinder - June 2026
Welcome back! First: some context.
On June 15, the State Supreme Court ruled that so-called “skill games,” like the ones which have become common in convenience stores and gas stations, are subject to the same state laws as slot machines, and gave operators 120 days to bring their skill game machines into line with the relevant laws. This isn’t a state legislature issue yet, but it’s about to be. Now, there’s an opportunity for legislators to tax the machines, which have the potential to bring in massive amounts of revenue. Pittsburgh, for example, has already started drafting up a local skill games tax.
Speaking of revenue, June 30 (TODAY), is the deadline for the state to pass its budget, a draft of which was presented to the Senate by Gov. Shapiro and the House Democrats back in March. But Republicans continue to balk at the record-setting $53.3 billion price tag and the fact that it would require billions of dollars to be withdrawn from the “rainy day” fund. It’s unlikely that a budget will pass today; in fact, last year’s budget took until November.
Meanwhile, bills are swirling which would affect the state’s cash flow, such as Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D - Philadelphia)’s HB2224, which passed in the House on June 22 and would set a cap on the profits utility companies are allowed to earn relative to their operating costs. This measure would cut residents’ bills, but also eliminate $1.7 billion in state tax revenue paid by utility companies.
And, on June 25, tax bill HB1667 passed in the Senate with overwhelming support after legislators added amendments to cancel tax breaks for data centers.
Other bills targeting data centers have seen success in the last few months, as Republican legislators appear to be growing more willing to take a stand against them. For example, consider Rep. Paul Friel (D - Chester)’s HB2496, a bill allowing local governments to put a 180-day hold on data center applications, which passed with a staggering 201-1 vote in the House on June 24. An even stronger measure was proposed by Sen. Jarret Coleman (R - Bucks & Lehigh) and two other Republican Senators on June 4. That bill, SB1345, would give local governments the option to create an 18-month hold on data center development.
On June 8, the House passed a bill first introduced by Rep. Tarik Khan (D - Philadelphia) entitled the Golden Girls Law, which aims to improve housing affordability by banning arbitrary occupancy limits for unrelated roommates, so that more Pennsylvanians can save money by living together.
And, do you remember HB2388? That’s Rep. Nathan Davidson (D - Cumberland & Dauphin)’s bill to permit cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest nickel. It just passed in the House on June 24.
Phew, that’s all for this month. Your representatives called, and they said they miss you. See you in July.
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