We're focused on these issues because the PA legislature hasn't been.
Campaign Finance Reform
Pennsylvania is one of 11 states with no campaign contribution limit for state races
PA state lawmakers are the 3rd highest paid in U.S. (with a base salary of $113,591.40 for December 2025 through November 2026), but accomplish less actual lawmaking
Unlike most states, Pennsylvania does not explicitly prohibit state candidates from using campaign funds for personal expenses
Pennsylvania is among a minority of states (including Missouri, Mississippi and Kentucky) that places no limits on the value of gifts special interest groups can give legislators
Community Health & Safety
More than 3,300 Pennsylvanians died from drug overdoses in 2024, including 2,280 deaths involving opioids
In 2024, Black Pennsylvanians were nearly 20 times as likely as white Pennsylvanians to die by gun homocide
Black women in Pennsylvania experience maternal mortality at more than three times the rate of white women
Criminal Justice Reform
Pennsylvania’s sentencing risk-assessment instrument has been in effect since 2020, despite concerns from civil rights advocates that such assessments can reproduce racial disparities in sentencing
Economic Equality
PA is one of 20 states still using the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (nearby states of MD, DE, NJ, NY and OH all pay higher wages)
PA is the 6th worst state in which to start a new business
Pennsylvania ranked 32nd in Oxfam America's 2025 Best States to Work Index, which evaluates state policies on wages, worker protections and collective bargaining rights
Research has found that poverty rates in Pennsylvania communities within three miles of existing and proposed fossil-fuel power plants were 60% higher than in the rest of the state
Education
Despite recent reforms, Pennsylvania's public schools remain billions of dollars short of the funding needed to address longstanding disparities between wealthy and low-wealth districts
PA residents graduate from college with the third highest amount of debt in the country
Pennsylvania spends substantially less per child on state-funded pre-K than neighboring New Jersey and Delaware, and research identifies a significant gap between current spending and the estimated cost of providing high-quality preschool
Pennsylvania community college students face significant affordability and graduation challenges, with tuition costs above the national average and low completion rates at some institutions
Equality & LGBTQ+ Rights
Although Pennsylvania's existing regulations prohibit LGBTQ+ discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations, these protections are not explicitly written into state law
Pennsylvania ranks 27th nationally for women's representation in state legislatures, up from 32nd in 2019; Women currently hold 33.6% of seats in the Pennsylvania General Assembly
Pennsylvania has recorded hundreds of incidents involving white supremacist propaganda, including hateful fliers, stickers, posters, banners and graffiti, since 2023, according to the Anti-Defamation League
Livability
Pennsylvania ranked 40th overall in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best States rankings, which evaluate health care, education, the economy, infrastructure and other measures. Despite improvements in broadband availability, more than 129,000 locations across the state were identified as lacking high-speed internet service in April 2026
Reproductive Rights & Access
Although Pennsylvania expanded Medicaid abortion coverage following a 2026 court ruling, 82% of its counties lack an abortion provider
Environmental Protection & Infrastructure
Pennsylvania ranks 40th nationally for our natural environment
Pennsylvania is the only major natural-gas-producing state without a traditional severance tax, instead charging an annual impact fee on unconventional natural gas wells
According to Pennsylvania's 2026 water quality assessment, 37% of the state's streams, totaling more than 31,000 miles, are polluted to the extent that they fail to meet at least one water quality standard
Pennsylvania is ranked #2 for having the most structurally deficient bridges in the US
Pennsylvania ranked 36th nationally for overall highway performance in the 2026 Annual Highway Report, including 40th for urban interstate pavement conditions and 41st for rural interstate pavement conditions
Pennsylvania's power sector produced the third-highest total carbon dioxide emissions in the nation in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration