Good Thursday morning.

The battle over Pennsylvania's voter ID law goes back to court today in a status conference before Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson. (Here's my post-election look at the bill.) The ACLU and other opponents plan to fight the strict photo ID requirements through the May 21 primary and will seek to have the state Supreme Court either rule it unconstitutional or require major changes.

Here's Karen Langley's overview on Gov. Tom Corbett opting out of building an online Obamacare shopping exchange. The governor was supposed to have a public Pittsburgh area appearance today, by the way, but it has been cancelled.

In other state news of a political bent, state treasurer Rob McCord, a Democrat, is saying he will withhold funds for a proposed Corbett administration expansion/privatization of the lottery system. Laura Olson has the story.

Mayoral season is in full swing on Grant Street, with a city council bloc dismissing a Bill Peduto proposal to halt evening parking rate hikes in neighborhoods in his East End District. From Joe Smydo's story:

Council President Darlene Harris said Mr. Peduto, who plans to challenge Mayor Luke Ravenstahl next year, is "trying to make brownie points" and be a "good-deed doer," in the run-up to next year's mayoral race.

"I'm not running for mayor, and I don't need to try to get people's votes for mayor," Mrs. Harris said.

Peduto is expected to officially announce his candidacy tonight at his annual holiday party in the Strip District. The Point Breeze councilman lost another battle yesterday when a bloc of council members agreed to let a Buncher Co. redevelopment proposal (supported by the Ravenstahl administration) go forward in the Strip -- the group consists of Harris, Ricky Burgess, Theresa Kail-Smith, Daniel Lavelle and Corey O'Connor.

The Tea Party group Americans For Prosperity lauded Gov. Tom Corbett's decision to opt out of a state insurance exchange in a statement issued at 1:09 p.m. today, more than 20 minutes before the governor's full decision was issued. Here's the top of the AFP release:

Harrisburg, PA - Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania, the commonwealth's leading advocate for health care freedom, is encouraged by reports that Governor Corbett is announcing today that Pennsylvania will not set up a state or state-federal exchange, but let the federal government's department of Health and Human Services shoulder the costs of setting up the exchange.

"Governor Corbett has stood strong against the intrusion of the President's health care takeover thus far and today we look for him to bring Christmas early to Pennsylvania by announcing he will reject a state or state-federal exchange and instead allow the federal government to handle administering this law in our Commonwealth" said state director Jennifer Stefano.

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Montgomery, a possible 2013 gubernatorial challenger, calls the decision "a failure of leadership":

"Governor Corbett's decision not to accept the authority to develop and operate a state 'exchange' marketplace of private health coverage for individuals and small businesses is a failure of leadership and vision. It is a lost opportunity for the Commonwealth to demonstrate leadership and innovation in affordability and accessibility in the insurance marketplace. And, it fails to build on Pennsylvania's strong history as a pioneer in the development and successful implementation of private-public partnerships in health insurance coverage for children and adults.

"Pennsylvania's Children's Health Insurance Program was one of the first state initiatives in the nation that was used five years later as a model for the federal efforts that now offer affordable coverage for 11 million children in the country. As a State Senator who fought hard for the creation of CHIP and more recently as a Member of Congress who fought for expansion of coverage at the federal level, I have seen the positive outcomes for millions of children and their working parents. AdultBasic, started with dollars from the settlement with the tobacco industry, was also a public-private initiative that successfully offered coverage to thousands of lower income middle class adults in Pennsylvania. Governor Corbett ended this program using the funds to cover budget shortfalls, leaving many in Pennsylvania uninsured.

"The federal government will now take the responsibility to establish an exchange for Pennsylvania so that our residents will have access to affordable, meaningful coverage. The Governor's decision has denied Pennsylvania the chance to lead in coverage and affordability and to design a model that works best for the state and our particular insurance and delivery preferences.

"Health coverage and cost are major issues for Pennsylvania families and businesses. While there are unanswered questions, as there are with all new ventures, the Governor's decision demonstrates the low priority he has given to the serious challenge of affordable, accessible health coverage for our citizens."

Antoinette Kraus, Director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network:

"The Affordable Care Act was written to give states the flexibility to operate their own state-based exchanges and be the innovators of health care reform. Regrettably, Governor Corbett chose to reject this opportunity and instead handed the development of this new marketplace to the federal government.

Either way, Pennsylvania families and small businesses will finally have access to quality, affordable coverage through this new marketplace on January 1st , 2014. Pennsylvania's health insurance exchange will assure folks have high quality choices at affordable prices, and an easier time finding and purchasing coverage. It will bring stability, certainty and security to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

Through the establishment of this new marketplace, and by accepting the new federal funding to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income adults, Pennsylvania can cover up to 1 million residents who are uninsured today. The Affordable Care Act remains on track to bring security and peace of mind to Pennsylvania families.

We urge Governor Corbett to work with the Department of Health and Human Services to develop Pennsylvania's Health Insurance Marketplace and to accept Federal dollars available to strengthen our current Medicaid program."

Commonwealth Foundation:

Pennsylvania today joined 21 other states in refusing to create a state-based exchange or partnership exchange, one of the tenets of the Affordable Care Act. Thanks to Governor Corbett's bold statement and the strong stance of 48 state lawmakers, Pennsylvania taxpayers will not be on the hook for millions in exchange costs.

By refusing to create a state exchange, the governor also ensured the blame for higher premiums and restricted consumer choices in Pennsylvania will rest solely with the federal government.

For those keeping score at home, that leaves 24 states in the process of creating a state or partnership exchange while five states are still undecided as the December 14 deadline approaches.

This victory for Pennsylvanians did not materialize overnight. Governor Corbett's decision was influenced by thousands of calls and letters by taxpayers urging the Governor to remain strong in his resistance to the Affordable Care Act.

Pa GOP chair Rob Gleason:

"Obamacare is nothing more than a massive tax that increases healthcare costs and puts the federal government between patients and their doctors, and by refusing to participate in Obamacare's state-based exchanges, Governor Corbett took an important step today to shield Pennsylvanians from the President's healthcare debacle."

"Tom Corbett believes our healthcare system can be reformed, but expanding government bureaucracy to create a system that forces costs to go up while quality goes down is not the answer. Obamacare is bad policy and bad law, and I applaud Governor Corbett for standing up to the President's takeover of our healthcare system."

Joining other GOP governors, Gov. Tom Corbett finally announced today that he would not create a state health exchange system under Obamacare and leave its implementation to the federal government. There are too many questions regarding the system and thus far too few answers from the Department of Health and Human Services, he said in a statement.

From his administration:

Harrisburg – Governor Tom Corbett today released the following statement, along with a letter to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, regarding the state's decision on the establishment of a state-based health insurance exchange:

"For two years my administration has been engaged in careful planning around the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, continually seeking guidance from the federal government. Throughout this time, we've asked HHS questions to help determine costs, impacts and flexibility in order to inform our decisions.

Until this week, less than five days before the deadline for a state-based exchange decision and blueprint, we received little acknowledgement of those questions. Even HHS Secretary Sebelius recently admitted on a call with governors that the regulations released a few weeks ago were not final and that more drafts are to be expected.

Healthcare reform is too important to be achieved through haphazard planning. Pennsylvania taxpayers and businesses deserve more. They deserve informed decision making and a strong plan that responsibly uses taxpayer dollars.

Therefore, I have decided not to pursue a state-based health insurance exchange at this time. It would be irresponsible to put Pennsylvanians on the hook for an unknown amount of money to operate a system under rules that have not been fully written.

However, we will continue to seek guidance from HHS on the costs, impacts and flexibility involved in the different options for Medicaid expansion.

We must work together on solutions that provide greater access to high quality and more affordable health care coverage for Pennsylvanians."

Pennsylvania is one of 28 states that has declared it will allow the federal government to operate its exchange. By law, the decision to establish a state-based exchange can be re-evaluated by states each year.

The exchange decision letter to HHS, along with three previous letters to HHS from the administration, can be found by clicking on "Affordable Care Act News" on the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's website at www.insurance.pa.gov.

The governor's full letter to HHS contains much of the same language but adds his concern that state authority to run an exchange is "illusory" since control will really be by the feds:

Corbett HHS letter

Good Wednesday morning.

Gov. Tom Corbett is saying there's no appetite in Pa for anti-union right-to-work legislation like that approved by GOP lawmakers in Michigan. (John Micek rounds up the guv's remarks here at the Morning Call.) Here's what the state's AFL-CIO leadership has to say:

"There isn't a will for passage because Pennsylvanian's know that unions helped build the middle class in this state," said PA AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale. "Trying to force something like this
through would bring the state government to a grinding halt, just like it did in Wisconsin and Ohio."

"There is no evidence to suggest that passing right to work would encourage companies to move to Pennsylvania," said PA AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder. "States with strong unions perform better across the board, with higher incomes for workers and more access to healthcare."

UPDATE: The National Federation of Independent Business is urging Corbett to pursue the legislation:

"The competition for manufacturing and heavy industry just got a little more intense and we can't let politics hold us back," said NFIB State Director Kevin Shivers. "Pennsylvania relies heavily on manufacturing and industrial companies and we can't let other states get too far out in front of us."

Meanwhile the state awaits his decision on another heavily political matter -- whether Pa will establish its own online health insurance shopping site (aka, health exchange) under Obamacare, or leave the work (and the funding for it) with the federal government. The deadline is Friday, and Corbett is under pressure from the right of his party to opt out -- the argument being that the more states sit on the sidelines, the harder it will be for feds to implement the insurance shopping networks by October of next year.

Not everybody likes Pittsburgh City Councilman (and mayoral hopeful) Bill Peduto's move to honor rapper (and weed-smoker) Wiz Khalifa. Read the comments at the bottom of yesterday's P-G web story for a whiff. Peduto's reply:

"I tell them when I was younger, I was listening to people like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Jerry Garcia and Joe Strummer, all of whom had different issues with substances. If any of them were from Pittsburgh and I was honoring them, I don't think I'd get the same type of reaction."

South of Pittsburgh, Pam Snyder's move to the Legislature to replace imprisoned former Democratic House Speaker Bill DeWeese opened up her spot on the Greene County board of commissioners. The mayor of Waynesburg has been tapped to replace her, reports WJPA radio:

Waynesburg Mayor Blair Zimmerman has been appointed Greene County Commissioner, replacing Pam Snyder, who was elected state representative.

The appointment was announced Tuedsay by the Greene County Court of Common Pleas. Zimmerman will serve the remaining three years of Snyder's term. It was not immediately clear how soon Zimmerman would vacate the mayor's office but anyone interested in the job can send a letter to the borough manager who says the only requirement is the person has lived in the borough for the past year.