Pennsylvania
Legal cannabis likely won’t be in this year’s budget
HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro made legalizing recreational marijuana a centerpiece of his budget pitch this year, but cannabis advocates and Pennsylvania lawmakers say such a proposal is unlikely to be part of a final deal.
Democrats who control the state House have yet to find consensus on how to regulate a multibillion-dollar industry and include the people most harmed by drug criminalization in the new market. Meanwhile, the lawmaker who controls what legislation the GOP-majority state Senate considers still opposes legalization.
Passing a legalization bill with the budget due June 30 is “probably not a realistic timeframe,” said state Rep. Dan Frankel (D., Allegheny), chair of the House Health Committee.
Still, legalization advocates say they’re closer than ever to success, citing allies in both parties, legalization in all but one of the commonwealth’s neighbors, and a blueprint in the passage of medical marijuana.
“We’re on a path to get this done,” Frankel told Spotlight PA.
Polling shows the issue is popular with voters in the lead-up to a contentious election in November. Three proposals had been introduced in the legislature as of mid-June — two with bipartisan backing — and more are on the horizon.
The cannabis industry itself, which sees big profits in Pennsylvania, is pushing hard for legalization, employing dozens of lobbyists at at least nine different firms to make their case to legislators. They largely support a bill that would create a new regulatory board dedicated to marijuana and allow existing medical marijuana companies to transition into the recreational market.
Legislative Democrats who have spearheaded legalization talks this year want to allow the people most affected by marijuana criminalization to participate in the new industry and to ensure legalization doesn’t adversely affect public health.
Chief among the roadblocks is deciding how the new industry would be structured.
In his February budget pitch, Shapiro asked lawmakers to pass a 20% tax on recreational marijuana sales. He estimated that doing so would bring in more than $250 million in annual tax revenue once the industry is off the ground.
Shapiro also asked that a bill include expungement for people convicted of nonviolent possession of small amounts of marijuana, and echoed legislative calls for the industry to include previously criminalized groups. And he wants the state Department of Agriculture to regulate the industry.
He left the rest of the details up to the legislature.
Frankel’s committee has since held many hearings on the issue. He said he heard from a “parade of interests” that, while often well-meaning, “want to create a great business opportunity.”
That experience led him to support the sale of marijuana in state-owned stores, similar to existing ones that sell liquor and wine. Twenty-one other Democrats have signed on to a bill that would create such stores.
“It’s clear that if our main priority is protecting public health from unintended consequences of for-profit commercialization, then a state-owned system for adult-use cannabis may be a way to it,” Frankel said.
Frankel argued such a system would let the state take on the risk of managing the volatile new industry and protect Pennsylvania farmers.
“There is a lot to like about this mode, but there are certainly other ideas and approaches out there to be considered,” he added, saying that his own proposal will depend on what his colleagues back.
Frankel also expressed interest in adopting some measures from Canadian law. One would be to require edible flavors to be “unappealing to children” and come in varieties such as broccoli or beets instead of the candy-like options popular in states with adult-use cannabis.
Such ideas, particularly state sales of marijuana, are opposed by the industry and some advocates. But Frankel said he wouldn’t be fazed by their concerns.
“I would be somewhat skeptical of a bill that was universally and enthusiastically endorsed by the industry, and I think that [in] my experiences, sometimes the best policy doesn’t make every stakeholder happy,” he told Spotlight PA.
Reaching a consensus in the closely divided state House is only the first hurdle for legalization. The next — and much bigger one — would be winning over the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Legislative Republicans have long blocked action on cannabis by citing its federal status as a Schedule I drug, which the Drug Enforcement Administration says has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
President Joe Biden’s administration this year began the process of reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. But state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) told Spotlight PA in a statement that he still has concerns.
“I continue to hear from drug and alcohol providers in my district that have reservations about the use of marijuana and its impacts on addiction,” Pittman said. “I have long believed this issue is something the federal government needs to figure out.”
Those concerns have been echoed by influential interest groups, such as the state’s manufacturers association, law enforcement organizations, and some children’s advocates.
But Meredith Buettner, executive director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition, a trade organization that represents medical marijuana permit holders, believes the right circumstances could force the legislature to act. The state is currently flush with surplus cash but faces long-term revenue issues it will one day be forced to reckon with.
“Stranger things have happened during the month of June in Harrisburg,” she told Spotlight PA.
What’s on the table
In addition to the legislation that would create a state system to sell marijuana, there are two other bills currently before the legislature.
One, from state Sens. Dan Laughlin (R., Erie) and Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia), would create a new board to regulate the industry and allow medical marijuana companies to sell to recreational customers — a priority for existing sellers.
To address calls for social justice, the bill would reduce permitting fees for, and approve grants and interest-free loans to, “social and economic equity” applicants.
Such applicants would need to make less than $75,000 a year. They would also need to have been arrested for a nonviolent drug offense or lived for at least five of the past 10 years in a location with higher-than-average poverty or incarceration rates.
The bill would also allow established medical sellers, such as publicly traded, multistate companies, to receive additional permits if they partner with an equity applicant. The existing company, or other established marijuana executives, could also own up to 10% of their social equity client’s business.
A bipartisan state House bill proposed Monday mirrors much of Laughlin and Street’s proposal. However, it would allow an existing company to receive additional permits only once its equity client opened its doors.
The bill would also put the state Department of Agriculture in charge of regulating both the existing medical marijuana program and new recreational sales, as proposed by Shapiro, rather than creating a new board.
“We’re trying to take everybody’s best practices and best ideas and put it into a bill,” state Rep. Emily Kinkead (D., Allegheny) told Spotlight PA.
Industry advocates have supported these proposals. But the language concerns Cherron Perry-Thomas, a grassroots advocate for adult-use cannabis who previously worked as a marijuana marketer.
Contracts between established companies and budding entrepreneurs, she told Spotlight PA, are “predatory.” She also argued that established businesses shouldn’t be able to hold any stake in new companies coming from the Black and brown communities harmed by the over-policing and criminalization of marijuana consumption.
Instead, she wants to see the law incentivize business partnerships between small rural farmers and urban entrepreneurs.
“We’re asking for first right of refusal for communities who were impacted by the war on drugs,” Perry-Thomas told Spotlight PA.
She also agrees with the marijuana industry on a few proposals. She concurs Pennsylvania needs a new regulatory agency dedicated to marijuana and that selling cannabis products through state-run stores, as suggested by Frankel, would stifle small-time producers.
Street has heard the concerns about social equity, and said that haggling over the exact language is at the top of his agenda for the coming weeks.
“There’s agreement that the language as written is insufficient, and that we got to do more,” Street told Spotlight PA.
He has pitched allowing licensed small growers to hawk their wares at special sites that are specifically for cannabis, similar to farmers’ markets.
Getting equity provisions right has troubled other states. Connecticut state officials are auditing their marijuana program’s equity council, which is charged with verifying applicants’ credentials and handing out grant money to impacted communities. Industry-backed bills in Pennsylvania include similar mechanisms. New York, meanwhile, struggled to find a funding source for equity grants and ended up cutting a deal with a private equity firm.
State Rep. Napoleon Nelson (D., Montgomery), chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, told Spotlight PA that an equitable bill for communities that have been “overpoliced and overcriminalized” was a priority for any legalization bill.
He didn’t go into details about specific policies that would earn the bloc’s backing in the closely divided legislature.
“We ought to say what we’re for,” Nelson said, “and not what we’re against.”
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Pennsylvania
An Outpouring of Frustration Over Pennsylvania’s Rapid Data Center Growth – Inside Climate News
The latest example of burgeoning opposition to rapid data-center development in Pennsylvania came at a town hall meeting overflowing with frustration about how the state is managing the surge.
As about 225 people watched, more than 20 speakers in the two-hour online forum late Wednesday spoke about resistance to an industry they blame for rising electricity prices, heavy water use, noise pollution and rural industrialization. Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has tried to thread the needle of welcoming data centers while proposing some guardrails, was a frequent target.
“This is a public trust and transparency issue,” said Jennifer Dusart, a small business owner and resident of Mechanicsburg, near the state capital. “Too many Americans are finding out about these projects after decisions have been made. We have been bulldozed over, and when citizens have raised concerns, they are often dismissed as uninformed, emotional or anti-progress.”
According to the Data Center Proposal Tracker, Pennsylvania has nearly 60 data centers that have been officially proposed, are in early planning stages, have received approval to build or are under construction.
Karen Feridun of the environmental nonprofit Better Path Coalition, which organized the town hall, said the Pennsylvania Data Center Resistance Facebook group she started in January with a few dozen members now has more than 12,000 followers. Kelly Donia of East Whiteland Township in southeastern Pennsylvania, who lives near a proposed data center, said she’s a registered Democrat who had been excited about speculation in 2024 that Shapiro would be the Democratic vice presidential candidate. But she said she no longer supports him because he has courted data centers. “He is losing his base,” she said. “I want him to hear this loud and freaking clear. I’m going to make it my job to make sure that man never gets elected again for any office.”
While an Emerson College survey in November found that Pennsylvanians were split on data-center development—38 percent supported it, while 35 percent opposed it—opposition to such development close to home was more pronounced. A February poll of registered voters in the state by Quinnipiac University found even more pushback: 68 percent said they would oppose a data center for AI in their community.
Neither the Data Center Coalition, an industry group, nor Pennsylvania Data Center Partners, a developer of large data centers, responded to requests for comment, though industry advocates have said the growth will bring jobs and tax revenue to the state.
The Shapiro administration said it seeks to protect communities while reaping the economic benefits of the booming data center industry.
“If companies want the Commonwealth’s full support — including access to tax credits and faster permitting — they must meet strict expectations around transparency, environmental protection, and community impact,” Rosie Lapowsky, a Shapiro spokesperson, said in a statement. “This is about setting a higher bar for projects, not lowering it, and ensuring development happens responsibly and in a way that benefits Pennsylvanians.”
In February, Shapiro proposed standards as part of his budget address, including that new data centers seeking state support must either provide their own power rather than drawing it from the grid, or fully fund their power needs and the transmission infrastructure that comes with them.
Feridun said Shapiro did not respond to multiple invitations to attend the town hall, which she thinks the state should have hosted to give people a chance to express their concerns about data centers.
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Colby Wesner of the activist group Concerned Citizens of Montour County, which successfully opposed a data center, criticized House lawmakers for passing the Shapiro-supported HB 2151, which would require state officials to draft a model ordinance that towns could use to respond to data center applications.
Supporters say its use would be voluntary and it would help local officials protect quality of life in their communities. But Wesner believes it will benefit the industry if enacted: “There is absolutely no way this ordinance won’t be a data center developer’s dream.”
Donia urged townships to change their zoning so they have the legal right to deny data center applications in places they don’t want them. Without carefully zoned land, towns are vulnerable to lawsuits from developers, she said.
“If you’ve got terrible ordinances in your township, and you add in bad zoning, guess what? You get a hyperscale data center,” she said.
The surge in data center projects in Pennsylvania has been driven by tax breaks for developers, as allowed by a 2021 law that lawmakers should repeal, said Republican state Rep. Jamie Walsh, who spoke at the town hall event. In Virginia, the state with the most data centers, developers have to pay a sales and use tax, but Pennsylvania doesn’t require that, he said.
“That has made Pennsylvania a target. In Virginia, they have to pay tax on the contents of those buildings. Pennsylvania will never realize that. That is why we’ve become ground zero,” said Walsh, who represents Luzerne County in northeast Pennsylvania.
State Sen. Katie Muth, a Democrat who represents part of the Philadelphia suburbs, plans to introduce a bill to place a three-year moratorium on data center development so state and local governments can first study and plan for the industry. She announced the bill in a legislative memo in February and expects to introduce it soon, a spokesman said.
Muth told activists at the town hall that the data center industry has not done enough to fully disclose its plans to the public. ”This has all been planned long before any of us had a clue, so don’t feel that you missed all these things,” she said. “You were supposed to; no one wanted you to know about it.”
Michael Sauers, a retired school teacher from Bloomsburg, southwest of Scranton, called on officials to amend the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, a regulation first published in 1970.
“This has to be strengthened to empower communities to be able to say no to unwanted development that is being shoved down their throats,” he said. “Communities must be empowered to reject top-down development that gives them little or no voice in the future.”
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Pennsylvania
Man arrested for allegedly posting hit list, threatening more than a dozen Pennsylvania lawmakers
LEBANON, Pa. — A Lebanon County, Pennsylvania man is charged with making terroristic threats and accused of creating a hit list of 20 Democrats, many from the Philadelphia region.
Adam Berryhill’s X handle goes by Pennsylvania Militia.
On it, state police say he posted, “I can’t wait for Memorial Day Operation.”
His thread also displayed guns, and he called local politicians gun-grabbing communists. His alleged hit list included state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of North Philadelphia.
“I’ll tell you to a certain degree, not that much shock. You know this is not the first time I’ve been the victim of threats,” Kenyatta told ABC Philadelphia affiliate WPVI.
He says the threats have no impact on his governing.
State police say among the other local Democrats named by Berryhill are congressional candidates Sharif Street, Chris Raab and others, like state Rep. Morgan Cephas.
A routine investigation by the state police detail assigned to state House Speaker Joanna McClinton led to the discovery of the alleged terroristic threats.
Berryhill was arrested and charged last week.
SEE ALSO: ISIS-inspired teens considered other targets before Gracie Mansion protest: sources
“It’s not about being a Democrat or Republican or an independent. This is about American belief, that in America, Philadelphia, where it all started, that you get to say you believe without any threat of violence,” Kenyatta said.
Court records say Berryhill also criticized Republicans. In another post, he said they need to stop whining and claimed the only solution is war.
Charging documents say Berryhill has been involuntarily committed in the past and is prohibited from possessing firearms.
“It’s deeply uncomfortable for anybody to be doing a job just serving your neighbors. You did not sign up to be in the crosshairs of someone who is unhinged and violent,” Kenyatta said from his North Philadelphia district offices.
Court records say Berryhill was unable to make bail.
Calls to his public defender have not been returned.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro issued the following statement on the arrest:
“Today, I spoke with Speaker McClinton and Leader Costa about the terroristic threats made against members of their caucuses in the State Legislature. I told them that while these threats of political violence seek to intimidate and silence, my administration will continue to do everything in our power to keep them safe and ensure their members can continue to make their voices heard as the people’s elected representatives.
We are experiencing a dangerous rise in threats of political violence across the Commonwealth and I appreciate the quick action of the Pennsylvania State Police and the Lebanon County District Attorney to charge and arrest the perpetrator. It is also clear a better process is necessary to notify elected officials directly when these threats are made. Lt. Colonel Bivens has spoken extensively with House and Senate leadership and their teams, and the Pennsylvania State Police have instituted a new process to notify members of the General Assembly immediately and directly of any and all threats of violence against them.
It is on all of us to combat hate speech and political violence, and I call on all of my fellow Pennsylvanians and fellow leaders to stand up against this dangerous rising tide of violence we are seeing across our country.”
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Shirley Ann Dailey, 89, of Daytona Beach, Florida (formerly of Montoursville, Pennsylvania), passed away peacefully on February 23, 2026, surrounded by her family at AdventHealth Hospital in Daytona Beach.
Born December 14, 1936, in Sayre, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of the late John and Laura (Reinbold) White. She met the love of her life, Gordon Ell Dailey whom she shared over 60 years of marriage until his passing in 2023.
Shirley grew up in Buffalo, New York, and Dushore, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Turnpike High School in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, and continued her education with two years of college. She went on to have a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years. Her professional journey included roles with the Social Security Administration, General Motors, Pennsylvania Department of General Services, and most notably, 30 years of dedicated service with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). She served as an Administrative Assistant to the District Executive for PennDOT Engineering District 3-0. Shirley took great pride in her work and spoke fondly of her time at PennDOT throughout her retirement.
In her personal life, Shirley enjoyed collecting artwork, caring for her home, taking walks, bicycling, and vacationing with her family.
Surviving is a son, David (Crista) Dailey of Daytona Beach, Fla.; a grandson, Garrett Dailey, of Daytona Beach, Fla.; sisters, Regina (Drew) Bagley of Shunk, Pa., and Deborah (Ray) Thall of Mechanicsburg, Pa. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents and husband, Shirley was preceded in death by a sister, Margaret Pier, and a brother, William White.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at McCarty-Thomas Funeral Home, 733 Broad Street, Montoursville, Pennsylvania, with Pastor David Smith officiating. Burial will follow in Twin Hills Memorial Park, Muncy. Friends may call from 9 to 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at mccarthythomas.com.
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