Governor Tom Wolf delivered his sixth budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly. While he didn’t say it in so many words, Wolf maintained his long-standing themes of “schools that teach, jobs that pay and government that works.” After five years of tough decisions, Wolf said the Commonwealth is on a pathway to prosperity, and he encouraged the House of Representatives and Senate to tackle a wide range of issues, from full-day kindergarten to pipeline safety to gun violence.
Starting with some numbers, the 2020-2021 proposed General Fund budget comes in at $36.056 billion, a $1.46 billion or 4.22 percent increase, over last year’s budget. The budget includes no new taxes. Education funding, from Pre-K through grade 12, comprises 36.1 percent of that amount, with the remainder being divvied up as follows: 23.4 percent for medical assistance and long term living; 16.5 percent for other health human services programs; 5.1 percent for higher education; 7.3 percent for criminal justice programs and services; 8.5 percent for all other programs; and 3.2 percent for debt service.
As for how Wolf plans to spend the money, starting with the “schools that teach” umbrella, the budget includes increases for Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Program, as well as funding for subsidized child care and an expansion of universal free, full-day kindergarten. Increases in basic and special education funding are also included. Wolf is proposing that teacher salaries be raised to a minimum of $45,000 Commonwealth-wide and that comprehensive charter school reforms be enacted.
The Governor is also proposing an increase in funding for higher education, by repurposing $204 million from the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Trust Fund to support the new Nellie Bly Tuition program for students enrolled in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. New funding for the PHEAA grant program that will be matched by PHEAA is also an aspect of the Governor’s budget.
“Jobs that pay” has been another one of the Governor’s central themes in budgets past, and this year is no different. This year, Wolf would continue to invest in the Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center and increase funding for the Industrial Resource Centers, Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance, Small Business Development Centers and Local Development Districts. Wolf is also proposing increased funding for the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority. Finally, the Governor is proposing that Pennsylvania continues to foster a friendlier business climate, by reducing the corporate net income tax and adopting rules for combined reporting.
There are plenty of programs and services around “government that works” in the Governor’s 2020-2021 proposed state spending plan. Among them, Wolf is proposing a $1 million increase for legal services programs for low-income individuals, $1.2 million new dollars for direct care worker training and supports, a $4 million increase for counties to support individuals with autism or intellectual disabilities living in the community and $1.3 million for the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program.
Beyond services to vulnerable populations, Wolf is proposing investments in our environment, like funding for increased staffing at the Department of Environmental Protection and legislation to address pipeline safety issues.
The Governor ended his speech today with a request that the legislature take action to address gun violence in the Commonwealth by enacting a law calling for universal background checks. Perhaps not part of a spending plan per se, but part of the bright future Wolf pictures for Pennsylvania through the delivery of this address.
The budget address is the first step toward enactment of the 2020-2021 state spending plan. Over the next few weeks, the General Assembly will hold budget hearings with the executive agencies and then return to session to debate the budget, which must be passed by June 30.