Pittsburgh

blue

Pittsburgh Alerts

Alert

Axios Pittsburgh Partners

Pittsburgh Members

Membership

Get smarter, faster on what matters in Pittsburgh with Alexis Johnson, Ryan Deto, and Chrissy Suttles.

Axios Pittsburgh

Standard

Axios Pittsburgh Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Philadelphia

Axios Philadelphia

The new year brings a wave of new laws in the Keystone State and Pittsburgh.

Why it matters: The changes will influence how we work, learn, drive and pay taxes.

By the numbers: Pennsylvania lawmakers passed roughly 65 bills last year, ranking 2025 among their least productive years over the last decade.

Here is some of the top legislation coming our way.

👑 CROWN Act: This Pennsylvania law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on hair texture and style, like braids, twists and afros. The law goes into effect later this month. Pittsburgh has had its own anti-hair discrimination law on the books since 2021.

⚖️ School weapons notification: School officials must now notify parents, guardians, and employees within 24 hours whenever a weapon is discovered on school grounds. Previously, Pennsylvania law required districts to report such incidents only to the state Department of Education.

🚦Red-light enforcement: Pittsburgh will roll out automated red-light enforcement cameras at six intersections early this year. Drivers who run red lights face a citation, capped at $100 by state law.

Violations will be reviewed by police before the city's parking authority mails tickets. Signage will be posted at all camera-equipped intersections. The city approved a five-year contract with Verra Mobility to install and operate up to 30 cameras by 2029.

From 2019 to 2023, drivers running red lights caused 759 crashes in Pittsburgh, per the city.

📵 Distracted driving penalties: Pennsylvania will begin fully enforcing its new distracted driving law in June, after a yearlong warning period.

Starting June 5, police can fine drivers $50 — plus court costs and other fees — for holding or using a phone while driving, even when stopped in traffic or at red lights. A driver convicted of vehicular homicide and distracted driving faces up to five additional years in prison.

🧾 New tax credit: The Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit is included in the new state budget signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro in November. It offers a refundable tax credit for low- and middle-income workers and mirrors the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

The Shapiro administration estimates about 940,000 Pennsylvanians will qualify this tax season. Eligibility and refund amount are based on income, filing status, and number of dependents. The credit is capped at $805. Eligibility calculator here.

New year, new laws for Pennsylvanians

Changes affect distracted driving, tax credits, school safety and more.

Illustration of a statue of Lady Justice holding a sparkler.

The new year brings a wave of new laws in the Keystone State and Pittsburgh.Why it matters: The changes will influence how we work, learn, drive and pay taxes.

News

Politics

Pennsylvania finally has a state budget after more than four months of gridlock.

Why it matters: State funding will soon flow to school districts, county governments, and social service providers, who have been forced to take out loans or cut programs while awaiting payment.

Driving the news: The state House and Senate passed a roughly $50.1 billion, bipartisan spending plan Wednesday. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it shortly after. 

The deal, which hiked spending by 5% over last year, came together quickly this week after months of stalled negotiations in Pennsylvania's divided government.

1 stunning stat: The budget is 134 days late. 

Between the lines: The spending plan is roughly $1.4 billion less than what Shapiro called for earlier this year.

Yes, but: Republicans agreed to spend billions of dollars more than they wanted to.

What's inside: Here are the top takeaways from the budget deal:

👋 Pennsylvania will leave the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state, cap-and-trade agreement that limits carbon emissions.

💵 A new state tax credit will support low- and moderate-income individuals, equal to 10% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit they qualify for. 

🏫 Roughly $565 million in new funding is allocated to historically underfunded school districts.

🌿 Legalizing recreational marijuana didn't happen again, which could have brought in new revenue ahead of a looming budget crisis in the state.

🚇 No boost in mass transit funding, which was a massive sticking point for Democrats earlier this year.

😡 The state minimum wage remains unchanged at $7.25 an hour.

historically underfunded school districts

Pennsylvania passes $50.1B budget, ending stalemate

Illustration of Pennsylvania State Capitol building with lines radiating from it.

Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Martin Diego Honrado/EyeEm via Getty Images

Pennsylvania finally has a state <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="budget" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2025/08/06/septa-service-cuts-pennsylvania-budget-funding" data-vars-content-id="3ba4a8d7-51ed-4ffe-a704-e4fb1ddaeb9b" data-vars-headline="Pennsylvania passes $50.1B budget, ending stalemate" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2025/08/06/septa-service-cuts-pennsylvania-budget-funding" target="_self">budget</a> after more than four months of gridlock.Why it matters: State funding will soon flow to school districts, county governments, and social service providers, who have been forced to take out loans or cut programs while awaiting payment.

Whats Next

Axios What's Next

The Steel City could have driverless taxis in the near future, if everything goes according to Waymo's plans.

Why it matters: Autonomous vehicle company Waymo is in the midst of a robotaxi expansion, and Pittsburgh is one of 19 additional U.S. cities coming online in the next year or two, the company announced Wednesday in a blog post.

What they're saying: "We're excited for residents and visitors in Pittsburgh to one day experience the safety, convenience, and magic of our technology firsthand," reads the company's post.

It also cited the city's history of testing autonomous vehicles and Carnegie Mellon University's prowess in robotics and autonomous technology.

Zoom in: Waymo said it will begin testing its vehicles with a manual driver this week in Downtown and then move to autonomous driving testing with a trained specialist behind the wheel "in the coming months."

The company's goal is to eventually bring fully autonomous taxis to the city.

Zoom out: Companies can operate autonomous vehicles in Pennsylvania with or without a safety driver behind the wheel, according to state rules.

Yes, but: No companies are operating fully autonomously and without a driver in Pennsylvania, and Waymo has not yet applied to operate fully automated vehicles in the state, according to PennDOT spokesperson Alexis Campbell.

Waymo has a certificate of compliance to operate with a driver on board in Philadelphia, but not in Pittsburgh.

State of play: Mayor Ed Gainey's spokesperson Olga George told Axios that the state authorized Waymo to operate through a state law passed in 2022, and that the state now controls the permits, not the city. 

City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger spoke with most City Council members on Wednesday and none were told about Waymo's testing plans before the news broke, she tells Axios. 

The other side: Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher said the company is in the process of engaging city and state officials and — when operations begin — plans to brief Pittsburgh leaders about its technology and expansion plans.

Context: Waymo is currently operating in five cities — Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin (the latter two in partnership with Uber, plus a relationship in Phoenix as well), and has faced some roadblocks to its expansion plans.

Flashback: Pittsburgh was a popular proving ground for driverless cars in the late 2010s, with companies like Uber, Argo AI, and others testing on city streets. Some of them eventually ended their local operations, but a few still test here, like Aurora.

Waymo eyes driverless taxi rollout in Pittsburgh

Waymo will begin manual testing Downtown before moving to autonomous trials.

Waymo self-driving car at an intersection in San Francisco, California, November 20, 2025. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

A Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The Steel City could have driverless taxis in the near future, if everything goes according to Waymo&#x27;s plans.Why it matters: Autonomous vehicle company Waymo is in the midst of a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="robotaxi expansion" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/28/robotaxis-waymo-may-zoox-tesla" data-vars-content-id="78abf9b9-34b7-420a-a1db-dedf7eb9d3d2" data-vars-headline="Waymo eyes driverless taxi rollout in Pittsburgh" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/28/robotaxis-waymo-may-zoox-tesla" target="_self">robotaxi expansion</a>, and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Pittsburgh" data-vars-click-url="https://x.com/waymo/status/1996217860440412641?s=46" data-vars-content-id="78abf9b9-34b7-420a-a1db-dedf7eb9d3d2" data-vars-headline="Waymo eyes driverless taxi rollout in Pittsburgh" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://x.com/waymo/status/1996217860440412641?s=46" target="_blank">Pittsburgh</a> is one of 19 additional U.S. cities coming online in the next year or two, the company announced Wednesday in a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="blog post" data-vars-click-url="https://waymo.com/blog?modal=short-waymo-coming-to-pittsburgh" data-vars-content-id="78abf9b9-34b7-420a-a1db-dedf7eb9d3d2" data-vars-headline="Waymo eyes driverless taxi rollout in Pittsburgh" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://waymo.com/blog?modal=short-waymo-coming-to-pittsburgh" target="_blank">blog post</a>.

Transit

Welcome to your Election Day cheat sheet.

Why it matters: Control of Pennsylvania's state government is on the line Tuesday, and Pittsburgh could play a part in that shift.

🏆 Top of the ticket: The gubernatorial election is the premier race on the ballot.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is seeking a second term and is challenged by Republican Stacy Garrity and Libertarian Ken Krawchuk.

Yes, but: Shapiro has held significant leads in both fundraising and polls throughout the campaign.

📌 State races: All 203 seats in the state House are on the ballot and half of the 50 state Senate seats (those in even-numbered districts).

Dems currently hold a majority in the House while the GOP maintains control of the Senate.

🔁 Between the lines: Democrats see a potential opening to flip the Senate and win a trifecta in state government — control of the House, Senate and governor's mansion — for the first time in over 30 years.

👀 Races to watch: Most swing districts are located in the eastern part of the state, but the Pittsburgh area has a few to follow.

State Senate District 46 in Washington County has attracted a bevy of ad spending thanks to an intriguing independent challenge from Jodi Borello in Republican state Sen. Camera Bartolotta's conservative district.

In the Moon area, the state House District 44 contest between Democrat Hadley Haas and Republican state Rep. Valerie Gaydos is the swingiest in the region.

Races in state House District 12 in Cranberry and District 40 in the South Hills should also be on your radar.

🌉 In Allegheny County: Voters also face a ballot question of whether to give County Council members more flexibility to hire staff, open district offices and receive benefits.

🏛️ Congress: All members of the U.S. House are also up for election.

That includes the 12th and 17th Congressional Districts — where Democratic Reps. Summer Lee and Chris Deluzio are heavily favored — and 14th and 16th Districts — where Republican Reps. Guy Reschenthaler and Mike Kelly are also favored.

A handful of congressional races across Central and Eastern Pennsylvania will likely help determine the balance of power in Congress.

📨 Early voting: While many will head to the polls Tuesday in person, more than 1 million mail-in and absentee ballots had already been cast as of Monday, per the Department of State's website.

Of those, Allegheny County contributed over 131,260 as of Monday, the most of any county in the state.

🗳️ How to vote: Polls are open Tuesday between 7am-8pm. Find your polling place here.

Mail-in ballots must be received by election boards no later than 8pm on Election Day, but it's too late to send via the Postal Service.

Turn in your mail-in ballot at the County Office Building at 542 Forbes Ave. Downtown between 7am-8pm Tuesday.

👀 What we're watching: Whether voters will turn out across the state.

The last midterm election with the governor on the ballot in 2022 drew 54% of eligible voters.

Worth noting: Voting complaints can be filed with Pennsylvania's Department of State election department online here or by calling 1-877-VOTES-PA (1-877-868-3772).

significant leads in both fundraising and polls

Election Day in PGH: What you need to know

Here's what to know about key races, polling hours and mail ballots before you vote Tuesday.

Animated illustration of a combination red, white, and blue political campaign button, reading "VOTE," and a compass. The compass needle is blue and spinning.

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Illustration of an I voted sticker surrounded by fingers pointing in different directions

Welcome to your <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Election Day" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/10/19/pennsylvania-voter-guide-shapiro-garrity-state-house-senate" data-vars-content-id="9239234c-e8c5-45ad-b8f2-45e5ae9dd68c" data-vars-headline="Election Day in PGH: What you need to know" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/10/19/pennsylvania-voter-guide-shapiro-garrity-state-house-senate" target="_self">Election Day</a> cheat sheet.Why it matters: Control of Pennsylvania&#x27;s state government is on the line Tuesday, and Pittsburgh could play a part in that shift.

Election

Cursive is making a comeback in Pennsylvania classrooms this April under a new state law.

Why it matters: Spending valuable class time teaching students to put pen to paper is a nationwide trend, despite students using computers for a growing share of assignments.

Driving the news: The new mandate, passed in February, elevates writing "print, joined italics and cursive handwriting" as an essential subject alongside reading, history and arithmetic that all Pennsylvania students must be taught in public and private schools.

The state Department of Education is developing guidance and expectations for schools.

Flashback: Pennsylvania and many other states ditched cursive writing as a mandatory subject in the early 2010s when they adopted Common Core education standards, which focused more on keyboard skills.

Yes, but: Many districts across the Keystone State have continued to teach cursive, including Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Zoom in: Kristen Justus, assistant superintendent of elementary education and curriculum for Pine-Richland School District, tells Axios the district teaches cursive as part of its second-grade curriculum and plans to continue with updated guidance.

"As a district, we were already planning in-service sessions to review all of our collective commitments within English Language Arts this spring," said Justus.

The New Kensington-Arnold School District told TribLive in February it was in the process of revising its curriculum to include cursive — likely in first or second grades.

Between the lines: Studies have shown that learning cursive can help improve students' memories and motor skills.

Plus: There's a close link between reading and writing, while cursive has several additional benefits, Shawn Datchuk, a special education expert and former director of the Iowa Reading Research Center, tells Axios.

When writing cursive, students are learning how to connect letters while engaging in spelling words — foundational skills for how much students write and the quality of their writing, he said.

And in the age of computer spellcheckers, students still need some spelling skills to use them, he noted.

The big picture: Republican State Rep. Dane Watro, who sponsored the House bill, said it boosts civic engagement by keeping historical documents like the U.S. Constitution accessible.

Zoom out: Students are required to learn cursive in more than two dozen states, NPR reports.

The bottom line: While some districts focus more on typing in a tech-heavy world, some teachers have a "longing to go back to a time when things were a little simpler," Philadelphia-area elementary school teacher Dawn Hiltner tells Axios.

Cursive mandate hits Pa. schools in April

Cursive is making a comeback in Pennsylvania classrooms.

Illustration of a cup full of pencils, pens, and a feather quill. 

Cursive is making a comeback in Pennsylvania classrooms this April under a new state law.Why it matters: Spending valuable class time teaching students to put pen to paper is a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="nationwide" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2024/07/25/cursive-makes-a-comeback" data-vars-content-id="bae64e4c-bcc9-4613-a3ef-cb4f5b452887" data-vars-headline="Cursive mandate hits Pa. schools in April" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2024/07/25/cursive-makes-a-comeback" target="_self">nationwide</a> <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="trend" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2025/06/25/cursive-writing-returns-to-georgia-classrooms" data-vars-content-id="bae64e4c-bcc9-4613-a3ef-cb4f5b452887" data-vars-headline="Cursive mandate hits Pa. schools in April" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2025/06/25/cursive-writing-returns-to-georgia-classrooms" target="_self">trend</a>, despite students using computers for a growing share of assignments.

Mike D'Onofrio

Featured stories

Election Day in PGH: What you need to know

Readers react: The vibe ahead of Tuesday's election

Election Day in Philadelphia: What you need to know to vote

Mischief Night is Philly's license to misbehave

Portal to stay in Philadelphia