PITTSBURGH — Air quality in parts of Pennsylvania is getting better, but there's still plenty of room for improvement, according to a new report issued Wednesday by the American Lung Association.

The “State of the Air” report found the Pittsburgh-New Castle area was the eighth worst in the nation in terms of year-round particle pollution, or soot. The Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland area in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland was 11th worst in soot, and Allentown-Bethlehem was 14th worst.

But Pittsburgh air has improved in recent years since the city in 2008 was third-worst in the nation. The 2013 soot readings for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia also were the lowest ever for those areas, while readings in Allentown were higher than last year.

HARRISBURG — There are no plans to move state government workers into a federally run online health insurance marketplace that's supposed to start up next year.A spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund said Wednesday she wasn't aware of any such plans, and nothing is getting consideration from the Legislature.The 25-year-old trust fund administers health care benefits to about 140,000 state employees, retirees and their families.Washington state legislators are considering moving some government workers from state-sponsored health plans to an insurance marketplace.Washington is looking to make the shift with part-time employees who work less than 30 hours a week.

HARRISBURG — Total spending by the General Assembly increased about $8 million last year, and its year-end surplus declined, according to an internal report released Wednesday.Legislative spending was nearly $307 million in the year that ended in June, an $8 million increase, the Legislative Audit Advisory Commission said. The House spent $178 million, the Senate $96 million.The largest legislative spending category was payroll and benefits, which cost the public $249 million last year.The surplus fell to $140 million, a drop of about $43 million from the previous year. Lawmakers justify it as insurance against a potential budget standoff with the governor, and commission chairman Rep. Gordon Denlinger, R-Lancaster, said it’s currently about as small as it should go.“We’re right at the edge of the number,” Denlinger said.The reserve reached $215 million in 2006 but has been falling since. Total spending was $318 million three years ago, and $327 million in 2008-09.The auditors suggest the House do away with the checkbooks controlled by senior members, arguing that spending should be funneled through a central system. They also say the House should consider standardizing leave policies, as the Senate has done.