PA to Finally Get State Budget

In a move which will keep Pennsylvania schools open, House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) yesterday applauded the governor’s decision to allow the bipartisan-passed supplemental budget bill to become law.

The Fiscal Year 2015-16 state budget will total $30.031 billion.

The legislation, House Bill 1801, will restore funding for schools, universities, hospitals, corrections and agriculture without any new or increased taxes.

Reed said the finalized budget will impact many different areas.

“Working together, in a bipartisan fashion, we put a balanced budget on the governor’s desk to close out the current fiscal year, and the governor is letting it become law. We are investing in education by increasing basic education funding by more than $200 million and boosting higher education funding by 5 percent, without placing a heavier burden on taxpayers.

“This budget includes a 7.8 percent increase in agricultural programs, notably in the areas of ag research, Penn State Extension, 4-H Program and the University of Pennsylvania Center for Infectious Disease.

“Child advocacy centers, critical access hospitals, regional cancer centers and burn centers would also see their state allocations restored.

“We will begin work immediately on next year’s budget as well as some of the important issues everybody is talking about: reforming the liquor and pension systems, as well as bringing real property tax relief to homeowners.

“But most importantly, the budget crisis is over and schools will remain open, much to the relief of families, teachers and administrators across the Commonwealth.”

House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) was also satisfied with Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision yesterday.

“It’s a significant win for the citizens of Pennsylvania. A balanced budget, a budget that does not increase taxes, a budget that holds the line on spending but makes significant investments in public education and higher education, and nobody’s being held hostage anymore,” Turzai said in a statement.

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.