Consumers could feel an even greater squeeze in the years ahead, as utility companies predict that efforts to build data centers across the state to meet the AI demand will make the energy crunch worse.

Battleground districts range from south-central Pennsylvania farm country to western rust belt towns to burgeoning suburbs outside major cities.

The change will save hundreds of millions of dollars, the Shapiro administration estimates.

A dispute over the level of taxation and accusations of retribution derailed another attempt to regulate skill games in Pennsylvania.

Lawmakers created a new program to mirror the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, and adjusted an affordable housing credit to attract new investors.

The $50.1 billion state budget maintains previous spending on rural hospitals and boosts Medicaid programs, but advocates say it doesn’t fix every challenge to accessing care.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would have capped the amount of carbon that companies in Pennsylvania are allowed to emit.