Seth Williams shocks the political world, Harrisburg looks to borrow for the budget, but only agrees to a spending plan, Humane PA gains clout, and Barletta gets a shout out.  See who made this week’s Ups & Downs!

Seth Williams. The now former Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams’ saga came to an abrupt and surprising end Thursday as the Philadelphia District Attorney plead guilty to bribery and corruption and resigned his position immediately. He earned many down arrows as allegations of misdeeds mounted; more likely lie in his future as the process turns to sentencing. This week he earns an Up for a dramatic revelation that shocked the political world.

Lawmakers.  Last night, the Governor and House and Senate leadership announced they had agreed on a budget, at least how much money to spend.  How they plan on raising the money they are agreeing to spend will have to wait until next week or later, with no time table in place for when they will have it put together.  

Borrowing. The legislature and Governor Wolf all seem to be getting closer to the idea of borrowing money to close the $2 billion budget deficit that the state facing, effectively kicking the can down the road for future sessions to deal with – like next year during the election.

Humane PA PAC. The passage of Libre’s law, Pennsylvania’s first animal cruelty bill to include a felony statute for severe animal abuse, and the large bipartisan support the bill received show that this is one of the most effective interest groups in Harrisburg.  No member of the legislature wants to be in the dog house by voting against them.

Beer Distributors.  An attempt to tilt the three-way balancing act of reforming alcohol sales towards beer distributors failed this week when the state Senate gutted a proposal to allow distributors to sell liquor and wine.  

Nuclear Energy.  It was announced this week that Three Mile Island informed regulators of its intent to close around Sept. 30, 2019 due to economic conditions.  The debate over whether and how much Pennsylvania should subsidize the industry will continue to face lawmakers.  The American Petroleum Institute pushed against the subsidy and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council came out in favor of keeping nuclear energy as part of Pennsylvania’s energy mix.  

Lou Barletta.  Congressman Lou Barletta got a shout out from President Trump on national TV for a run for higher office.  Trump may have said the wrong office, but the call out could help Barletta make a final decision about a run for Senate.  

Bonus Up/Down: Every week, PoliticsPA will be including a bonus up or down, that is exclusive to Playbook email subscribers.  To sign up to see the bonus arrow click here.

The tweet of the week goes to Philadelphia Inquirer Assistant Managing Editor John Duchneskie for his Philadelphia Political Hall of Shame:

Add Seth Williams' name to the list of Philadelphia's Political Hall of Shame: https://t.co/gnYyH241Fo pic.twitter.com/yu3hTjWIE5

— John Duchneskie (@jduchneskie) June 29, 2017