Looks like we’re stuck with the legislative districts we’ve got.  A federal judge has rejected Republican requests that the upcoming election not be based on 2001 state House and Senate district lines.  The Post-Gazette reports the suits filed by top Republican state lawmakers argued:

…that the population shifts of the past decade mean the current legislative map would give more representation to some residents than others.

Judge R. Barclay Surrick of the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia denied the requests, saying the election is too close to bar voting along current district lines. The state Supreme Court had ruled that those boundaries remain in effect until a new legislative map is enacted.

"To enjoin the 2012 election from proceeding under the 2001 plan would leave the Pennsylvania primary in a state of unacceptable uncertainty," he wrote. He added that delaying the primary election could prevent state voters from choosing presidential nominating delegates for the Republican National Convention in August and the Democratic National Convention in September.”

Well, wouldja look at that: an impact fee.  The first-ever Marcellus Shale impact fee heads to the governor’s desk, after a 101-90 vote in the state House.  StateImpactPA explains what comes next:

Once Cor­bett signs the bill into law, coun­ties host­ing nat­ural gas wells will have 60 days to pass an ordi­nance autho­riz­ing an impact fee within their bor­ders. If a county’s com­mis­sion­ers don’t want a levy, they sim­ply won’t hold a vote on the matter.

After the ini­tial 60-day win­dow ends, munic­i­pal­i­ties will have a chance to over­ride any county com­mis­sion­ers who opt out of the impact fee.

The governor’s budget proposal to siphon money from the state’s racehorse fund for Ag extension and veterinary activities has horse breeders livid, reports the Patriot-News:

[Tom] McClay is one of the biggest breeders in Pennsylvania, with his horses spread among six or seven farms, including several near Penn National Race Course, about 15 miles east of Harrisburg.
  
He said he pays trainers, stable hands, blacksmiths, grooms, feed suppliers and others who could be out of work because of the cuts. He said he’s disgusted.
   
“This is a rape,” he said. “If they did this is normal life, I would sue them for breach of contract.”