Court throws out 2012 welfare law over how bill was enacted
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania law that ended state cash welfare benefits in 2012 and made other changes to human services programs was thrown out Wednesday over methods used to push it through the Legislature by Republican majorities.
The state Supreme Court unanimously struck down the multi-faceted legislation because its passage violated state constitutional requirements that bills be considered in each chamber for at least three session days before being voted out.
The bill ended a program that distributed about $150 million, typically in $205-a-month cash payments, to some 60,000 poor or disabled Pennsylvanians.