Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania has announced that he will now publicly disclose his use of taxpayer-funded Pennsylvania State Police aircraft, following pressure from state lawmakers and Spotlight PA. While previous governors typically used a PennDOT-operated plane for official business, Shapiro’s use of State Police aircraft raised questions about transparency and public accountability.
Shapiro traveled extensively in his first two years in office using the PennDOT plane, racking up high costs and hours in the air. While still using the PennDOT plane in 2024, Shapiro also used State Police aircraft for undisclosed trips. This move has been criticized by lawmakers like Senator Scott Martin for diverting taxpayer funds from essential public safety needs to non-emergency travel for the governor’s convenience.
The governor’s office has pledged to make State Police aviation logs public, matching the format of required PennDOT logs. Concerns have been raised about the lack of transparency surrounding officials’ use of state planes and the limited details provided in flight logs.
While State Police and the governor’s office maintain that flights were for official business within the state and did not include out-of-state or campaign-related travel, further details are yet to be revealed. The governor’s office insists that the flights were necessary for fulfilling duties outside of Harrisburg and ensuring safety while minimizing costs.
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