Republican candidate for governor Paul Mango spoke at the first Press Club luncheon of 2018 on Monday focusing on his campaign, his displeasure with Harrisburg and the state’s current leadership, and his policy goals should he win office.

Mango will be running in the currently four-way Republican primary on May 15 with hopes to face Gov. Tom Wolf in the November 6 General Election. 

A renewed bipartisan effort to reform Pennsylvania’s beleaguered and fractured system of municipal pensions got underway Monday with an overview hearing held by the House and Senate Local Government committees.

In one of the last major pieces of legislation awaiting completion by the General Assembly prior to the end of 2017, the state Senate passed legislation aimed at providing an “exit ramp” for ending state funding of unemployment compensation system upgrades by a vote of 43-5.

The Senate took the step Monday of advancing recently House-passed legislation that would provide an “exit ramp” for the end of state funding for unemployment compensation system technology upgrades.

The bill, House Bill 1915, is sponsored by House Labor and Industry Committee Majority Chairman Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin) and represents a compromise between House and Senate Republicans and Democrats that provides an exit strategy for the state to get out of funding technology upgrades while still ensuring enough funding to complete the ongoing project.

Six “reform-minded” Republican state senators earlier this week declared their intent to introduce legislation that would require state agencies to engage in zero-based budgeting, essentially requiring them to build their budgets from zero dollars as a means to justify expenses.