Shapiro Reverses Course on Data Centers + Pennsylvania House Set to Vote on Open Primaries

Pennsylvania's legislature returns for its final 11 days of the year, facing skill games regulation, a reversal on data center policy, an open primaries vote, and a Flock Safety hearing on license plate cameras. Flock Safety / ALPR hearing: In a House committee hearing, Flock Safety's Kevin Cain testified there's no facial recognition technology in the company's license plate readers and no data tied to names, Social Security numbers, or addresses — just still images of vehicles in public settings. Democratic Rep. Ed Neilson and Republican Rep. Robert Kauffman raised concerns about data retention, sharing, and private-party access (e.g., whether a store like Lowe's could access data beyond its own property — it can't). Cain said Flock supports legislative guardrails, including data retention standards, audit requirements, cybersecurity certifications, and consequences for misuse. Skill games deadline: With ~70,000 skill game machines in circulation across bars, fire halls, and veterans clubs statewide, lawmakers have only days to clarify their legal status before enforcement action could begin. Data center reversal: Gov. Shapiro has shifted from welcoming data center development two years ago to now pushing for some of the strictest development guidelines in the country, amid rural land, water, energy, and noise concerns. Shapiro has also said companies can no longer use NDAs to hide project details. Whether the legislature acts — from doing nothing to a development moratorium — remains uncertain. Open primaries vote scheduled: The House has a final vote scheduled on legislation that would make Pennsylvania the 31st state with open primaries, letting the state's 1 million+ unaffiliated voters participate. Gov. Shapiro supports it; its fate in the Republican-controlled Senate is unclear given a pattern of bills stalling there. Health department rule quietly withdrawn: A 502-page Department of Health rule that would have expanded state authority to track vaccination status and respond to infectious disease outbreaks — including warrantless entry into private residences, according to critics — was withdrawn late Friday after drawing roughly 10,000 public comments, most critical. Why the rush: With the election just 11 days out, The Center Square's Kristen Smith notes lawmakers are unlikely to tackle politically risky items before November 3, making this window a "make or break" period for major legislation this session. The Center Square's Kristen Smith reports. Get Pennsylvania updates at TheCenterSquare.com. #Pennsylvania #FlockSafety #DataCenters #OpenPrimaries #CenterSquare #TheStates