‘GSD’ attitude meets partisan reality

In a speech to reporters in late November, Shapiro touted his administration’s “GSD” attitude.

“And we have gotten a lot of [stuff ] done,” he added.

His administration implemented “automatic voter registration” — a change that prompts Pennsylvanians to register to vote when they interact with PennDOT — and Shapiro signed an executive order that removed a college degree requirement for thousands of state jobs.

He secured money from the company behind the East Palestine train derailment for those affected and worked to bring $1.6 billion in federal money to the state to build two hydrogen hubs, seen as a potential clean energy game-changer.

The governor also signed into law expanded insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings, a longneeded update of a state property tax rebate for older people, and continued funding for universal free school breakfast.

Otherwise, the list of legislative accomplishments is short. As of Dec. 11, Shapiro had signed into law less than half as many bills as Wolf, his predecessor, did in his first year.

Some of the reasons behind the slow start have little to do with Shapiro.

For the first time in more than a decade, the legislature is divided with Democrats in control of the state House and Republicans in charge of the state Senate — meaning the parties must find common ground to get anything to Shapiro’s desk.

The power change in the lower chamber meant it took a while for the state House to get down to business, while subsequent vacancies have caused the Democratic