HARRISBURG — The state House is scheduled to begin debate on the campaign to privatize Pennsylvania’s system of state-owned liquor stores, an initiative backed by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.

The House plans to take up the liquor privatization bill today, but it’s not known if there will be a vote.

Stephen Miskin, a spokesman for House Republicans, says about 120 amendments are being proposed to the bill. He says those amendments are coming from both Republicans and Democrats.

The bill would give beer distributors first shot at 1,200 wine and spirit licenses and opens wine sales to supermarkets. In addition, the state’s wine and spirit stores would be phased out as the number of private operates grows.

On Monday, the House Liquor Committee backed the bill in a 14-10 vote.

Triple dipping’ benefits may endHARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House is trying to end so-called “triple dipping” where retirees come back to work and then leave to collect unemployment benefits.State lawmakers voted unanimously Tuesday to send the Senate a bill that would prohibit jobless benefits for people who are getting pensions but come back to work, then leave and get benefits.The bill is aimed particularly at state workers who come back from retirement for no more than 95 days. Because the state makes them leave after 95 days or lose their pension, they’re currently eligible for unemployment compensation.The prime sponsor, Juniata County state Rep. Adam Harris, says that in 2011, 239 state retirees collected more than $1.1 million in benefits after coming back to work for a few months and then retiring again.

Online registration for voters advancesHARRISBURG — A bill to allow Pennsylvanians to register online to vote has the unanimous approval of a key legislative committee.The Senate State Government Committee approved the bill Tuesday and sent it to the full chamber.The Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections, had begun setting up an online voter registration system last year. But a spokesman said it was dropped amid complaints from county officials that they were swamped with the demands of Pennsylvania’s new voter identification law.Spokesman Ron Ruman says Department of State officials now believe it’s better to create online registration through legislation rather than administratively.

Health study: Philly is worst in statePHILADELPHIA — How healthy you are is strongly linked to where in Pennsylvania you live, according to the results of a new county-by-county study that found Philadelphia the least healthy county and neighboring Chester the healthiest in the state.The report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute evaluated Pennsylvania’s 67 counties on more than two dozen factors the researchers believe influence a person’s health. They include individual healthy behavior markers such as obesity and smoking, as well as social and economic factors like education, violent crime, health care access, family support, education and unemployment.Philadelphia has starkly higher rates than its four adjacent counties of sexually transmitted diseases, teen births, uninsured residents, smoking and obesity rates, high school dropouts, violent crime and single-parent homes.The top 20 healthiest counties overall are Chester, Union, Centre, Cumberland, Snyder, Montgomery, Juniata, Lancaster, Bucks, Butler, Pike, Adams, Lebanon, Franklin, Tioga, Lycoming, Berks, Lehigh, York and Clinton.The bottom 20 counties are Philadelphia, Fayette, Greene, Sullivan, Forest, Cambria, Elk, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Blair, Potter, Wyoming, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Mercer, Perry, Erie and McKean.