COVID-19 ALERTS: Sign up for a free weekly email with the latest data customized to your county.

Map of latest Pa. coronavirus cases, county-by-county numbers

Brad Bumsted

Stories by Brad Bumsted

The Capitol

Senate GOP leaders said they are still hoping for a vote this week, but they are working against the clock: The legislature will break for the summer later this month. — KALIM BHATTI / The Philadelphia Inquirer

Prospects dimming for behind-the-scenes push to expand video gaming in Pa.

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted of The Caucus

June 24, 2020

The Capitol

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati is retiring later this year. — MATT ROURKE / AP

Top Pa. GOP lawmaker fast-tracking a lucrative gambling expansion that would benefit a major campaign donor

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

June 19, 2020

Coronavirus

Sens. Mike Regan and Tom Killion (far right) held a joint Senate committee meeting last week to examine the issue of waivers. — Courtesy office of Sen. Tom Killion

Pa. senators threaten subpoena if Wolf administration refuses to turn over list of coronavirus business waivers

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted of The Caucus

April 27, 2020

Coronavirus

Both the state House and Senate have passed temporary rules allowing remote voting, yet some members still choose to come into the Capitol. — DAN GLEITER / PennLive

Pa. legislature making few cuts, no promises to tap hefty reserves as state faces massive budget shortfall

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted of The Caucus

April 10, 2020

Coronavirus

Businesses not classified as life-sustaining were ordered to close March 19, and though the scope of that order has been revised several times, large swaths of Pennsylvania’s economy remain shuttered. — HEATHER KHALIFA / Philadelphia Inquirer

Pa. to close waiver process for businesses affected by coronavirus shutdown as calls for transparency mount

by Brad Bumsted of The Caucus and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

April 3, 2020

The Capitol

House officials initially argued the state Constitution gave them the right to shield certain information about how lawmakers and their staff spend money. — Kalim A. Bhatti / Philadelphia Inquirer

Pa. House drops ‘legislative privilege,’ will release lawmaker spending details

by Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

March 5, 2020

The Capitol

The information deleted from Senate documents included details on the purpose of the chamber’s expenses, including travel, meetings, and conferences. — JOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer

Pa. Senate officials scrub details from financial records, raising alarm among open records advocates

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

March 5, 2020

The Capitol

Lawyers for the House say "legislative privilege" shields the details of lawmakers' spending. — Kalim A. Bhatti / Philadelphia Inquirer

Pa. lawmakers black out details of why they spent tax dollars, claiming ‘legislative privilege’

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

Feb. 27, 2020

Capitol Notebook

MATT ROURKE / AP

The Pa. Senate's most powerful Republican won't seek reelection

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted and Paula Knudsen of The Caucus

Feb. 13, 2020

Campaign Finance

Reporters for The Caucus and Spotlight PA spent a year requesting and analyzing thousands of credit card statements and receipts for Pa. legislative campaigns to uncover examples of lavish and outlandish spending. — SARA SIMON / Spotlight PA

The 10 most extravagant or bizarre campaign expenses by Pa. state lawmakers

by Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

Oct. 25, 2019

Campaign Finance

The leader of the Pennsylvania Senate, Joe Scarnati, was among three senators who went on a European trip shortly after the Legislature passed a sweeping overhaul expanding wine sales. — Courtesy of The Philadelphia Inquirer

Mystery trip to Europe with ‘donors’ by Pa. state senators followed expansion of wine law

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

Oct. 23, 2019

Campaign Finance

Reporters for The Caucus and Spotlight PA spent a year requesting and analyzing thousands of credit card statements and receipts for Pa. legislative campaigns to uncover examples of lavish and outlandish spending. — SARA SIMON / Spotlight PA

How we uncovered nearly $3.5M in dark spending by Pa. lawmakers

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Brad Bumsted of The Caucus

Oct. 22, 2019

Campaign Finance

The most powerful lawmaker in the Pa. Senate, Joe Scarnati, dined at the St. Peter Stiftskulinarium restaurant in Austria in September 2016 and charged $246 to his campaign account. State law requires campaign money to be used for “influencing the outcome of an election,” but what qualifies is largely open to interpretation. — Andre Schönherr / St. Peter Stiftskulinarium

Lavish dinners, sports tickets, and nearly $3.5 million in other expenses by Pa. lawmakers you’ve never seen

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Mike Wereschagin, Brad Bumsted, Paula Knudsen, Sam Janesch and Alyssa Biederman of The Caucus

Oct. 22, 2019