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Pa. constitutional law expert says Wolf lawsuit against Legislature could be ‘political stunt’

Matt Rourke
/
AP

On today’s episode of The Confluence:

Gov. Wolf is suing the GOP-led legislature over its attempt to put forth anti-abortion constitutional amendments
(0:00 - 8:00)

In Pennsylvania, GOP lawmakers are looking to change the state constitution to say would there is not a guaranteed right to abortion access, and banning the use of public funds for abortions. Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf sued the Republican controlled legislature over its package of constitutional amendments.

“This might be a political stunt because it's so unlikely that the case will be taken by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court,” says Bruce Ledewitz, a professor of law at Duquesne University specializing in state and federal constitutional law.

Wolf is bringing forward the suit with two arguments: The first, is that a right to an abortion is implied by the state Constitution, so the amendment itself is unconstitutional; the second is that the process through which the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed the package of bills was also unconstitutional.

Constitutional amendments need to pass both chambers in two consecutive two-year legislative sessions before going to voters for the final say. The package was already approved once, and if passed by lawmakers again next year, could be put before voters in May of 2023.

Riverlife is looking forward to expanded Waterfront Development Tax Credits for local projects
(8:06 - 15:22)

The state tax credit, which incentivizes private developers to build on the waterfront, has been expanded with the new state budget. The annual tax credit allowance has grown from $1.5 million to $5 million.

What types of projects and development might this bring to Pittsburgh?

“The key projects that we have ongoing right now include a dock restoration at Allegheny Landing… Now that the program is expanded, our next project will be the restoration of Allegheny Riverfront Park, which sits at the apron of the cultural district between the Rachel Carson Bridge and the Clemente Bridge,” says Matthew Galluzzo, president and CEO for the nonprofit Riverlife, which is redeveloping the city’s major waterfronts and riverbanks.

Riverlife was also recently awarded a national grant from The Funders Network

Partners for Places initiative to support planning and project development at the West End Bridge.

“The West End Bridge connection is the largest remaining gap in Pittsburgh's downtown network and a major missing link for a number of regional national trail systems,” says Galuzzo. “It's part of our ‘Completing the Loop’ plan as a clear priority.”

There’s desire for traffic calming throughout the city, but limited resources
(15:26 - 29:30)

A six-year-old boy was killed in Glen Hazel last week. The child was out riding his bicycle when he was struck by a vehicle.

In an interview with The Confluence, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey was asked if his team would adopt the Vision Zero plan, which was recommended by the Infrastructure and Environment transition team. Vision Zero is a way to approach traffic safety as a public health issue, with the aim of no traffic deaths or serious injuries. Gainey said, “We will adopt.”

Eric Boerer, the advocacy director for BikePGH, says the best way to prevent injuries and deaths is through slowing cars down with speed humps

“The City of Pittsburgh's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure [DOMI] actually has a request program where people can request traffic calming on their street,” says Boerer. “They've had over 900 requests for traffic calming across the city, but have only been able to implement about 27 or so.”

Boerer says despite the interest in more traffic calming infrastructure, a lack of staffing and funding has likely held up progress.

The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts. 

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