Jul 12, 2022 6 min read

Pennsylvania lawmakers last week passed the 2022-23 state budget, approving a $45.2 billion spending plan.

The budget now moves to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk for final approval.

The bill grows the state’s Rainy Day Fund to roughly $5 billion. Public schools, environmental protection programs and long-term care facilities all will receive additional funding.

Wolf’s spokesperson called the budget a bipartisan deal that increases spending on education and other of his priorities.

Pennsylvania lawmakers and other groups released statements after the bill was passed.

The budget includes a funding boost for public schools, which Rep. Joshua D. Kail, R-Beaver, applauded.

Public schools across Pennsylvania receive a $525 million increase in basic education, for a total of $7.6 billion. Additionally, $100 million more is available for special education, for a total of $1.3 billion. The state’s 100 poorest districts will split an additional $225 million.

“As a father and and member of the House Education Committee, I will always fight for students so they can receive the beset education the Commonwealth has to offer,” said Kail in a statement.

He continued, “The budget also addresses school safety and security; mental health; charter school regulations; early childhood education; special education; and low-performing schools, among others.”

Pennsylvania State Education Association President Rich Askey issued a statement, saying, “This is a historic budget that will benefit the students of Pennsylvania. It includes more than $1 billion in state funding increases for public schools, which will go to support educational programs that make a difference in the lives of our state’s 1.7 million students.”

Askey said the significant funding increase in public schools “is necessary to meet the needs of students and educators, improve the availability of mental health services, and keep school buildings safe.”

Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, tweeted, “Fayette, Greene and Washington County schools will receive an additional $19.5 million, 6.6% more than last year.”

State Rep. Bud Cook, R-West Pike Run, noted the state budget deposits an additional $2.1 billion into the state’s Rainy Day Fund.

“Going into this budget season, my main priority was saving money in the state’s Rainy Day Fund. I believe we are headed toward a recession, and we will need that saved money to get the commonwealth through that difficult time without further burdening taxpayers,” he said in a press release. “We were able to deposit an additional $2.1 billion into that fund, totaling a historic $5 billion saved away. That is a great number for us to have in our back pocket.”

In a statement, Rep. Tim O’Neal, R-South Strabane, called the state budget “a fiscally responsible budget that sets us on the path for prosperity.”

He approved of the growth of the Rainy Day Fund, and said, “Additionally, this budget pays off our prior debts, including for Medicaid and the Workers’ Compensation Security Fund. Just like anyone, when money is available it’s time to put your finances in order and eliminate your fiscal liabilities. This will then create a clean slate that will provide the available space when it is necessary to take on new debt.”

O’Neal said the budget sets the state “on sound fiscal footing” and positions it for any economic slowdown.

Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, said in a statement that the budget “rightly prioritizes initiatives to benefit Pennsylvania’s workers, who were hurt by Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic closures and still have not recovered.”

Bartolotta, chair of the Labor and Industry Committee, said she was pleased to see “important investments to boost our workforce.

“This budget includes more funding dedicated to apprenticeship training to continue a proven job training model that allows individuals to earn while they learn on a pathway to family-sustaining careers,” she said.

Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Perryopolis, said he applauds the passage of a “fiscally responsible state budget, noting the budget reduces the Corporate Net Income Tax rate to 8.99% from 9.99% in January, and then it will be reduced by .5% each year until it reaches 4.99%, a move that will remove the state from the list of states with the highest business taxes.

“In addition to saving for our future, we are also taking steps to encourage economic growth by lowering the Corporate Net Income Tax, currently the second highest in the nation, and both reforming and simplifying taxes for small businesses,” said Warner. “These changes will help attract much-needed new business investment, creating jobs and expanding the tax base to lessen the burden on hardworking families.”

Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Upper St. Clair, said the budget “has several wins for taxpayers because it continues Pennsylvania on a path of fiscal responsibility and controls spending, while still prioritizing state government’s core functions such as education, public safety and mental health programs.”

Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Cecil, said in a release, “there are things in the budget I like and things I do not.”

”I believe this budget sets a good balance, although, I would have liked to have seen less spending, he said.

He noted the budget allocates $2.1 billion in COVID-19 money, and said, “The vast majority of this money will be used for one-time expenditures, including investments in local law enforcement, water and sewer projects, state parks, child care, student loan relief for nurses, long-term living programs, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program, and affordable housing, to name a few.”

The budget includes about $696 million for environmental conservation, recreation, and preservation, including funding to support the creation of three new state parks and a new ATV park.

Ortitay was pleased the budget will fund two new state police cadet classes.

“Many troopers are nearing retirement age, and concerns have been raised about a possible shortage of officers. This funding will add an additional 200 troopers to the ranks,” he added.

Rep. Matt Dowling, R-Uniontown, opposed the budget, based on the University of Pittsburgh’s fetal tissue research.

“Pitt continues to say that the money for fetal research and the money for tuition assistance is segregated, but as I said a year ago, the money in my right pocket and the money in my left pocket spends the same,” said Dowling, who is retiring at the end of this term, in a release. “This issue is not political to me. The respect for life is, however, very important to me and my constituents. I’m proud of the ‘no’ vote that I cast in response to Pitt’s funding.”

The budget also calls for $140 million in direct property tax relief; $375 million for safe and affordable housing; $90 million to stabilize the child care workforce; $25 million for a new Child Care Tax Credit; $2 million for women’s reentry; $1 million for a Hunger Free Campus Initiative that will provide grants to higher education institutions to create or expand food pantries and address college food insecurity; $100 million for adult mental health services; and $100 million for student mental health support.