What happened: On the 20th anniversary of Pennsylvania’s last minimum wage increase, Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) forced a procedural floor vote on House Bill 2189 (Rep. Jason Dawkins, D-Philadelphia) […]
What happened: The House passed House Bill 2146 (Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton), closing a loophole in Pennsylvania’s open-meetings law that a state Supreme Court ruling last November opened up, letting public bodies add […]
What happened: The House passed House Bill 2512 (Rep. Andre Carroll, D-Philadelphia), which would bar ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft from charging riders different prices based on personal data, with carve-outs for recognized discount groups […]
What happened: With no comprehensive data center regulatory framework yet enacted, lawmakers advanced four narrower, mostly bipartisan bills this week. House Bill 2359 (Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery) would bar local […]
Background: Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program has directed hundreds of millions of private dollars into nonprofit organizations and educational initiatives across […]
This month, PANO joined 13 coalition partners to present Pennsylvania’s FY 2026-27 Nonprofit Budget and Policy Proposals to 21 staffers representing 16 different legislative offices across the Commonwealth. The virtual […]
What happened: A bipartisan package of housing supply bills has been advancing through both chambers this month, backed by Governor Shapiro’s February goal of 450,000 new housing units in Pennsylvania by 2035. […]
The bottom line: The June 30 state budget deadline is eight days away. As of this week, no deal has been reached. Governor Shapiro signed nine initial appropriations bills on June 12 […]
What happened: Rep. Abigail Salisbury (D-Allegheny), co-chair of the bipartisan Pennsylvania Charitable Nonprofit Caucus, is preparing to introduce legislation that would remove the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund’s 33% match requirement for […]
What happened: The Senate Labor and Industry Committee approved Senate Bill 906 with strong bipartisan support, advancing a paid family and medical leave bill sponsored by committee chair Sen. Devlin Robinson (R-Allegheny) and […]
What happened: Senate Bill 1183, sponsored by Sen. Schlegel Culver, passed the full Pennsylvania Senate on June 22, 2026 by a unanimous 50-0 vote. The bill raises the thresholds at […]
What happened: The Pennsylvania House passed House Bill 2305 unanimously, 202-0, advancing legislation that would provide new charitable organizations with temporary relief from Pennsylvania’s Sales and Use Tax. The bill, sponsored by Rep. […]
The big picture: Pennsylvania’s May 19 primary elections set the table for what is expected to be one of the most competitive political environments in the country this November. With the governor’s […]
What happened: A group of Pennsylvania House Democrats, led by the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, introduced legislation this week to establish stronger state-level voting rights protections in response to the U.S. […]
What happened: The Pennsylvania House Finance Committee held a public hearing on HB 2550, legislation that would establish a state tax credit for small businesses — including small nonprofits — that contribute to employee health […]
What happened: As the White House audit of state Medicaid Fraud Control Units intensified nationally, Pennsylvania officials went on offense this week, presenting their anti-fraud track record to a panel of state House […]
What happened: Senate Bill 49, sponsored by Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-49), cleared the Senate Law and Justice Committee and heads to the full Senate. The bill would create a Pennsylvania […]
What happened: The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee advanced a package of six bills strengthening protections for child trafficking victims and increasing penalties for traffickers. The package includes: HB 910 elevates […]
What happened: The Pennsylvania House passed House Bill (HB) 1549 (Rep. Jason Dawkins, D-Philadelphia) to raise the state minimum wage from $7.25 per hour — where it has stood since […]
What happened: The Pennsylvania House passed the Family Care Act (House Bill (HB) 200, Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware) providing up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents, victims […]
What happened: The Pennsylvania House Finance Committee unanimously passed House Bill (HB) 2305, sponsored by Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia), which would give newly-formed nonprofits a two-year provisional window to obtain […]
Several bills moving through the Pennsylvania General Assembly have direct implications for nonprofits heading into the 2026–27 budget season. Here’s what we’re tracking this spring and summer (as of June […]
The What: PANO is launching a series of regional breakfasts with legislators across Pennsylvania to build direct relationships between nonprofits and elected officials at the district level — ahead of […]
May 2026 Update: Budget Moving to PA Senate after Passing with Bipartisan Support in PA House What happened (since our last post on April 7): The Pennsylvania House passed the […]
Pennsylvania’s 2025-26 prolonged budget stalement occurrng at the same time as a federal government shutdown had devastating impacts on Pennsylvania lives and the nonprofit sector that serves as a backbone […]
In June 2023, lawmakers and nonprofit professionals relaunched Pennsylvania’s Charitable Nonprofit Caucus. Co-chaired by Representatives Abigail Salisbury and Joe Hogan as well as Senators Jay Costa and Lynda Schlegel Culver, […]
Amplifying Our Superpowers: Our Voice, Our Value, Our Impact In support of our 2023 policy priority of a Strong Nonprofit Workforce, PANO is proud to partner with the following advocacy […]
PANO is advocating for State Legislators to release funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to support the Commonwealth’s nonprofits. Contact your legislators TODAY! Click here to take action. Over […]
PANO is advocating with state officials about the need for more support from the Commonwealth but we need YOUR help. Contact your legislators TODAY! Click here to take action. The Pennsylvania […]
Please read: Letter to General Assembly Signed by 23 Nonprofit and Philanthropic Organizations What You Can Do If you are a reimbursable employer who has not paid the solvency fee […]
PANO and 40 other state associations and philanthropic organizations came together to write this letter, laying out the following requests to Governor Wolf, all 203 members of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly, […]
PANO opposes policy that limits or prevents eligible nonprofits from obtaining or maintaining their tax-exempt status. PANO believes that Payments in Lieu of Taxes should be fully voluntary and not […]
PANO supports amendments to state law which protect Pennsylvania’s service recipients and providers by assuring that federal and state dollars allocated for essential services continue to be paid during a […]
PANO supports policies that increase revenues for all mandated services that nonprofits provide on behalf of government in Pennsylvania so that these services can be sustained. With increasing levels of […]
PANO supports regulatory changes that increase efficiencies and nonprofit-government partnerships. Proposed regulatory changes could include reducing redundancies across state agencies (e.g. common pre-award processes, budget templates, use of a single […]
