MARC LEVY

Statehouse and politics reporter

Levy covers politics and state government in Pennsylvania for The Associated Press. He is based in Harrisburg.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., listens to a speaker during an event at AFSCME Council 13 offices, March 14, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. For Democrats trying to defend the White House and Senate majority, Casey is emerging as the tip of the spear in trying to reframe the election-year narrative around inflation, a key soft spot in 2024 for Democrats on the all-important voter issue of the economy. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)

In Pennsylvania’s Senate race, Casey puts ‘greedflation’ and corporations on the ballot

For Democrats trying to defend the White House and Senate majority, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is emerging as the tip of the spear in trying to reframe the election-year narrative around inflation.

Governor’s plan to boost mass transit aid passes Pennsylvania House, but faces long odds in Senate

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to boost funding for public transportation systems has been approved by Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives.

This is the Keystone Generating Station in Shelocta, Pa., on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a plan to fight climate change Wednesday, saying he will back legislation to make power owners in Pennysylvania pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and require utilities in the nation's third-largest power-producer to buy more electricity from renewable sources. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pennsylvania governor unveils plan to cut greenhouse gases, boost renewables in big energy producer

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is unveiling a plan to fight climate change. Shapiro announced Wednesday that he’ll back legislation to make power plant owners in the state pay for their greenhouse gas emissions.

Easton's Aubre Krazer, right, takes down Hazleton Area's Miah Molinaro, left, during the first found of the PIAA High School Wrestling Championships in Hershey, Pa., Thursday, March 7, 2024. Girls’ wrestling has become the fastest-growing high school sport in the country. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Girls are falling in love with wrestling, the nation’s fastest-growing high school sport

Girls’ wrestling has become the fastest-growing high school sport in the country, sanctioned by a surging number of states and bolstered by a movement of medal-winning female wrestlers, parents and the male-dominated ranks of coaches and administrators who saw it as a necessity and a matter of equal

FILE - Pedestrians cross 10th Street in the Chinatown neighborhood of Philadelphia, July 22, 2022. Decades after Philadelphia's Chinatown was bisected by a sunken expressway, city officials and federal lawmakers said Monday, March 11, 2024, that they secured a grant to reconnect the community by building a park over the six lanes of traffic. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Philadelphia’s Chinatown to be reconnected by building a park over a highway

Decades after Philadelphia’s Chinatown was bisected by a sunken expressway, officials say federal grant money will be used to reconnect the community.

FILE - Chester County, Pa. election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University in West Chester on Nov. 4, 2020. Law enforcement agencies, civil defense officials and election administrators have begun meeting in Pennsylvania to coordinate how they will identify and fight election threats with the presidential contest just eight months away in the battleground state, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration said Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

Pennsylvania sets up election security task force ahead of 2024 presidential contest

Law enforcement agencies, civil defense officials and election administrators are meeting in Pennsylvania to coordinate against election threats with the presidential contest eight months away.

FILE – Election workers at the Allegheny County Election Division warehouse in Pittsburgh process ballots from the 2022 Pennsylvania primary, June 1, 2022. Pennsylvania's highest court ruled Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that Republican state lawmakers can no longer try to enforce a subpoena for election records they issued in 2021 in a quest inspired by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Pennsylvania’s high court throws out GOP lawmakers’ subpoena in 2020 presidential election case

Pennsylvania’s highest court is ruling that Republican state lawmakers can no longer try to enforce a subpoena for election records that they issued in 2021.

David McCormick, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, speaks during a campaign stop in Erie, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

GOP Senate contenders aren’t shy about wanting Trump’s approval. But in Pennsylvania, it’s awkward

Since he became a force in Republican politics, Donald Trump has figured prominently in U.S. Senate races, shaping which GOP contenders get nominated.

FILE - The exterior of the Pennsylvania Judicial Center, home to the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 21, 2023. A weekend cyberattack on the website of Pennsylvania's state courts agency disabled some online systems but did not appear to compromise any data and didn't stop the courts from opening Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, officials said. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Pennsylvania courts say no ransom was paid in cyberattack, and attackers never sent a demand

Pennsylvania’s state courts agency says it never received a ransom demand as part of a cyberattack that briefly shut down some of its online services earlier this month and prompted a federal investigation.

FILE - David McCormick, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, speaks at an American Legion, Jan. 18, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger McCormick appear unlikely to face primary opponents in Pennsylvania's 2024 primary election. The deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. for Republicans and Democrats to submit voter signatures to get on the April 23 primary ballot, and Casey and McCormick have already filed. (AP Photo/Marc Levy, File)

Pennsylvania’s 2024 primary election features contests for attorney general and Congress

Pennsylvania’s 2024 primary election may lack drama in the high-stakes races for president and U.S. Senate, but the fields for lower-ballot contests filled up for state attorney general and a handful of its 17 U.S.

Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his budget address for the 2024-25 fiscal year to a joint session of the Pennsylvania House and Senate in the Rotunda of the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Gov. Shapiro seeks school-funding boost to help poorer districts, but Republicans remain wary

Gov. Josh Shapiro is taking the first step in a yearslong process to respond to a court decision that found that Pennsylvania’s system of public school funding violates the constitutional rights of students in the poorest districts.

Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his budget address for the 2024-25 fiscal year to a joint session of the Pennsylvania House and Senate in the Rotunda of the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Pennsylvania governor seeks billions for schools and development in budget that envisions legal weed

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second budget proposes significant increases to education and economic development and would regulate adult use marijuana, while leaning heavily on Pennsylvania’s flush reserves to underwrite his vision.

FILE - The exterior of the Pennsylvania Judicial Center, home to the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg, Pa., Feb. 21, 2023. A weekend cyberattack on the website of Pennsylvania's state courts agency disabled some online systems but did not appear to compromise any data and didn't stop the courts from opening Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, officials said. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Cyberattack on Pennsylvania courts didn’t appear to compromise data, officials say

The Pennsylvania state courts agency says some of its online systems are disabled after its website was hit by a weekend cyberattack, but that the attack didn’t appear to compromise any data.

Workers on scaffolding set up in Pennsylvania's House of Representatives fix damage from a water leak on the ceiling, Feb. 2, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. Normally, the House chamber would host Gov. Josh Shapiro's budget address to a joint session of the state House and Senate on Tuesday, but instead Shapiro will deliver his address in the Capitol Rotunda.(AP Photo/Marc Levy)

Pennsylvania governor to deliver budget while seeking money for higher education and public transit

Gov. Josh Shapiro will deliver his second budget proposal to Pennsylvania lawmakers with a firmer grasp on how he wants to pursue top priorities and his state in a strong fiscal position.

FILE - Table top voting booths are stored at the Allegheny County Election Division warehouse on the Northside of Pittsburgh, Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. New data from automatic voter registration at Pennsylvania driver’s license centers shows that sign-ups have grown but remain almost evenly divided between the political parties in the presidential battleground state. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Pennsylvania automatic voter registration boosts sign-ups, but not a political party, data shows

New data from automatic voter registration at Pennsylvania driver’s license centers shows that sign-ups have grown but remain almost evenly divided between the political parties in the presidential battleground state.

Pennsylvania high court revives case challenging limits on Medicaid coverage for abortions

Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court says a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of state Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions.

FILE - Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro arrives before President Joe Biden speaks in Blue Bell, Pa., Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Shapiro's administration says he plans next month to propose steps toward fixing a state higher education system that's among the worst in the nation in affordability. The administration didn’t release many specifics Friday, Jan. 26, and says the Democratic governor will give more details in his Feb. 6 budget address. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Governor eyes overhaul of Pennsylvania higher ed system that’s among the worst in affordability

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration says he plans next month to propose an overhaul of a state higher education system that’s among the worst in the nation in affordability.

Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania challenge state, federal actions to boost voter registration

Some conservative Pennsylvania state lawmakers are suing in federal court and challenging three executive branch actions designed to boost voter registration, including a 2021 executive order by President Joe Biden.

FILE - Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro arrives before President Joe Biden speaks in Blue Bell, Pa., Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Shapiro has a new motto for how he wants to govern Pennsylvania — and it's not fit for kids' ears. “We’ve got a GSD attitude in the Shapiro administration that means we focus on getting — you know — stuff done,” Shapiro told a news conference Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, with local officials at the Johnstown YMCA. “There’s children here, so we’ll just say ‘stuff.’” (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Pennsylvania’s governor says he wants to ‘get s--- done.’ He’s made it his slogan, profanity and all

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has a new slogan that’s not fit for kids’ ears. Shapiro sometimes says GSD or “get stuff done.”

FILE - Dave Sunday, York County's elected district attorney, speaks with the York Daily Record in York, Pa., Monday, July 10, 2023. On Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, Pennsylvania's Republican Party endorsed Sunday for state attorney general out of a three-person field.(Paul Kuehnel/York Daily Record via AP, File)

Pennsylvania GOP endorses York County prosecutor in a three-way contest for state attorney general

Pennsylvania’s Republican Party is endorsing York County’s district attorney for state attorney general out of a three-person field.

David McCormick, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, speaks during a discussion with military veterans organized by his campaign at an American Legion hall, Jan. 18, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)

In Pennsylvania’s Senate race, McCormick elevates the Israel-Hamas war in a bid for Jewish voters

A Republican running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania is escalating criticism of Democrats over the Israel-Hamas war and has traveled to the Israel-Gaza border to make the case that the Biden administration hasn’t backed Israel strongly enough.

Democrats’ education funding report says Pennsylvania owes $5B more to school districts

A commission reviewing how Pennsylvania distributes money to public schools has approved a report that suggests the state is underfunding its districts by more than $5 billion.

A statue of William Penn stands at Welcome Park in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The tribes wanted to promote their history. Removing William Penn’s statue wasn’t a priority

Some of the Native Americans the National Park Service was supposed to consult with say moving a statue of Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn from a Philadelphia historic site isn’t a priority for them.

A statue of William Penn stands at Welcome Park in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Park Service retracts decision to take down William Penn statue at Philadelphia historical site

The National Park Service is retracting a proposal to take down a statue of William Penn at a Philadelphia historical site as part of a renovation that touched off a torrent of criticism over the legacy of the man who founded the province of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in his office in the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Shapiro could face a more difficult 2024 in his sophomore year in charge of Pennsylvania after his first year brought a highway collapse, a train derailment, a budget stalemate, and fallout with allies and adversaries as he navigated political divisions in a premier battleground state. (AP Photo/Daniel Shanken)

In 2024, Shapiro faces calls for billions for schools, a presidential election and wary lawmakers

In 2024, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro could face a more complicated sophomore year in charge of Pennsylvania.

FILE - Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., chair of the House Freedom Caucus, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 14, 2023. A liberal activist wants a Pennsylvania court to bar U.S. Rep. Scott Perry from the state's primary ballot, arguing that Perry engaged in insurrectionist activity and cannot appear on the state's ballot under the Constitution's insurrection clause. The seven-page lawsuit was filed Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, in Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Lawsuit aims to keep Pennsylvania congressman off ballot over Constitution’s insurrection clause

A liberal activist wants a Pennsylvania court to bar U.S. Rep. Scott Perry from the state’s primary ballot, arguing that Perry engaged in insurrectionist activity and cannot appear on the state’s ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause.

FILE - This photo provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa shows the screen of a Unitronics device that was hacked in Aliquippa, Pa., Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. The hacked device was in a pumping booster station owned by the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa. An electronic calling card left by the hackers suggests they picked their target because it uses components made by an Israeli company. (Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa via AP)

States and Congress wrestle with cybersecurity after Iran attacks small town water utilities

The hacking of a municipal water authority in a small Pennsylvania town is prompting new warnings from U.S. security officials as states and the federal government are wrestling with how to harden water utilities against hackers.

FILE - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf attends a dedication ceremony for the rebuilt Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. Pennsylvania saw a tenfold increase in deaths of older adults following an abuse or neglect complaint over the past few years, according to state data, and as COVID-19 ravaged the nation, calls for help mushroomed while local agencies struggled to keep caseworkers on staff.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

As pandemic unfolded, deaths of older adults in Pennsylvania rose steeply in abuse or neglect cases

Pennsylvania saw a tenfold increase in deaths of older adults following an abuse or neglect complaint over the past few years.

FILE - Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., chair of the House Freedom Caucus, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 14, 2023. A federal judge is ordering Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania to turn over more than 1,600 texts and emails to FBI agents investigating efforts to keep President Donald Trump in office after his 2020 election loss and illegally block the transfer of power to Democrat Joe Biden. The ruling, late Monday, came more than a year after Perry’s personal cellphone was seized by federal authorities. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Congressman told to hand over hundreds of texts and emails to FBI in 2020 election probe

A federal judge is ordering Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania to turn over more than 1,600 texts and emails to FBI agents investigating efforts to keep President Donald Trump in office after his 2020 election loss.

FILE - Pennsylvania House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, speaks with members of the media at the state Capitol, Feb. 21, 2023, in Harrisburg, Pa. Late Wednesday night, Dec. 13, Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania defeated legislation to send more than $35 million to the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary school over criticism that the Ivy League school has tolerated antisemitism, as statehouses around the U.S. eye how higher ed is handling tensions around the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

GOP lawmakers sink aid to Penn as statehouses watch how universities are handling Israel-Hamas war

Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are rejecting legislation to send more than $33.5 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school over criticism that the Ivy League school has tolerated antisemitism.