Follow Pennsylvania State Government on Twitter

Twitter is a good way to keep tabs on what is happening in Harrisburg on the state budget and other policy issues.  For those who are unfamiliar with Twitter, this is not meant to be a guide.  Nor will I offer advice on what you should tweet or you in general you should be following (you can get a Twitter 101 guide here, or see this users guide, or countless other places on the Internet).

But I do have suggestions for folks you should follow to stay informed on what is happening in Pennsylvania state government.

• You should of course start with the Commonwealth Foundation – @Liberty4PA.  You’ll get updates with our latest publications, blog posts, “In the News” as well as other stories we pass along.  You should also follow Commonwealth Foundation President Matt Brouillette (@MattBrouillette) and myself (@NathanBenefield) to keep tabs on what we are up to and the amazing tidbits of info we pass along.
• Media:  ABC27News and PennLive tend to be the leaders on state capitol stories.
• Individual state capitol reporters tend to be better, and more topic specific.  Two of the most active are John Micek (@CapitolIdeas) and Tracie Mauriello (@PGPoliTweets)
• Independent media outlets: @PoliticsPA and @RoxburyNews give some of the best on-the-spot twitter updates.
• Bloggers: Start with @GrassrootsPA and @PAWaterCooler.
• PA Lawmakers: Here is a website compiling a list of PA lawmakers on Twitter (and re-tweeting them @TweetPALawmaker).  Both the PA House Democrats (@PAHouseDems) and PA House Republicans (@PAHouseGOP) are twittering.  Among the individual members, Rep. Bryan Ellis (@PAStimWatch) has a pretty effective, narrow focus on the ovesight of federal stimulus money.
• Staffers: For some good insight into what is going on inside the Capitol, and often snarky commentary, follow @penncon and @Sam1963