First look: Lt. Gov. Davis launches affordability tour
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Lt. Gov. Austin Davis speaks at a rally in Pittsburgh in 2024. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis will kick off a statewide affordability tour this week, his office shared first with Axios Pittsburgh.
Why it matters: Rising inflation is intensifying the cost-of-living debate as Pennsylvania heads into a new budget cycle with a divided Legislature.
- The Shapiro-Davis administration is zeroing in on affordability — a political pressure point in the 2026 midterms — by touting policy wins aimed at lowering costs.
Zoom in: Davis' "Putting More Money Back in Your Pockets" tour kicks off Tuesday in Norristown, Montgomery County, just ahead of Tax Day.
- The stop will focus on tax relief, highlighting Pennsylvania's expanded property tax and rent rebate program and the new Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit.
- On Thursday, he'll stop in Luzerne County to talk about rising child care costs and highlight the Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit and Employer Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.
- Later this month, Davis will visit Fayette County to promote the administration's Lightning Plan to expand energy production, plus Carbon and Adams counties to talk about Pennsylvania's Housing Action Plan to lower costs for renters and homeowners.
Between the lines: Davis will likely champion key pieces of Gov. Josh Shapiro's $53 billion budget plan and push to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour.
- It's a pivotal year for the administration; the first-term Democrats are running for reelection as Shapiro reportedly mounts a push for a Democratic trifecta in Harrisburg amid 2028 presidential ambitions.
The latest: The U.S. Department of Labor on Friday reported U.S. inflation surged in March as the Iran war hit consumer wallets, while the Consumer Price Index climbed to its highest level in two years, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports.
- Consumer prices in March were up 3.3% from a year ago.
What they're saying: Davis in a statement criticized President Trump's "reckless and chaotic" policies as driving up the cost of food, health care, gas and other essentials.
- "Pennsylvania is the only state in the northeast with a growing economy, and we were third in the nation last year for job growth," said Davis. "But the health of an economy isn't just measured in jobs numbers or the stock market — it's measured in whether everyday Pennsylvanians feel like they aren't just getting by, but they're getting ahead."