PA Supreme Court May Examine Demise of General Assistance Program

By: Kate Giammarise

Published: January 26, 2017

A case before the state Supreme Court examines how the Legislature enacted a law that cut a cash assistance program for the poorest Pennsylvanians.

The lawsuit stretches back to 2012, when the then-Republican-controlled General Assembly passed — and then-Republican Gov. Tom Corbett signed — Act 80, which eliminated the General Assistance program.

The program supported more than 60,000 Pennsylvanians, many of whom were disabled or otherwise unable to work, with about $200 in monthly cash assistance.

Ending the program saved the state an estimated $150 million annually.

The lawsuit, which was brought by several former assistance recipients and a number of human service groups, alleges that the bill that became Act 80 was passed in an unconstitutional way — crammed full of various subjects in violation of the so-called “single-subject rule,” which says a bill can only deal with one topic. In addition to ending General Assistance, the same bill created a pilot program for 20 counties to consolidate a number of human service programs into a single block grant, changed the timing of a work requirement for Pennsylvanians applying for welfare, and imposed a tax on nursing homes, among other things.

To read more, go to http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2017/01/26/PA-Supreme-Court-will-examine-ending-of-General-Assistance-program/stories/201701230001.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.