This article is shared with LebTown by content partner Spotlight PA.
By Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA
HARRISBURG โ As the June 30 deadline for the Pennsylvania legislature to pass a new budget approaches, support for spending some of the stateโs billions in remaining stimulus money and surplus tax revenue is gaining bipartisan traction.
Discussions are preliminary, and top budget negotiators stressed on the record that nothing was yet concrete.
But lawmakers, lobbyists, and top staff pointed to a number of small bipartisan proposals percolating across the Capitol โ on issues from the environment to child care โ that could be the building blocks of a spending plan.
โWe move forward trying to identify areas of agreement first, and then weโll identify areas of disagreement and try and work through those,โ House Appropriations Committee Chair Stan Saylor (R., York) said.
Every year, Pennsylvaniaโs governor and legislature must agree on how to route tens of billions of dollars to education, criminal justice, economic development, and human services โ decisions that affect every Pennsylvanian.
Negotiations are a delicate affair. During Gov. Tom Wolfโs first term, the state had less money than expected, causing drawn out budget impasses between the Democrat and Republicans who control the legislature.
Pennsylvaniaโs financial picture has changed in recent years, with the stateโs coffers getting a $7.9 billion boost from stimulus money in 2021. In response, Wolf and his legislative allies called on the legislature to spend some of that windfall on higher education, paid family leave, and school repairs, among other priorities.
Instead, Wolf and legislative Republicans agreed last year to boost overall education funding, and used much of the stimulus money on general government operations rather than new programs, squirreling away billions more for a rainy day.
Earlier this year, Wolf released a budget proposal that would appropriate billions more to education and infrastructure. Republicans countered that additional spending would be fiscally irresponsible.
โWhile this yearโs revenues continue to outpace estimates, the long-term financial picture for the commonwealth remains uncertain,โ state Sen. Pat Browne (R., Lehigh), who chairs the chamberโs Appropriations Committee, said in February.
But with negotiations now beginning in earnest, that tune has now changed, with some Republicans signing on to or offering up projects as ways to spend the stateโs surplus. Pennsylvania still has $2.2 billion in remaining stimulus money, and at least $4.9 billion in surplus tax revenue.
One area with bipartisan support is spending on the environment, including clean water projects, land preservation, and overdue repairs to state parks.
Lawmakers are also considering putting some of that money toward the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay, of which the Susquehanna River is a key tributary.
Runoff from Pennsylvania farms often pollutes the bay by way of the river, and federal regulators have said that the state isnโt doing enough to fix the problem.
Saylor mentioned the Susquehanna River basin as an issue that โweโre going to be taking care ofโ this year, though he did not offer details.
Insiders pointed to a bipartisan bill from state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver (R., Northumberland) that would put $500 million of stimulus money into such projects, especially those in the basin.
Other issues that are getting Republican attention include more state funding for child care and pre-K, nursing homes โ a perennial recipient of funds โ and housing.
Progressive lawmakers have been building bipartisan support for a broad housing plan known as the Whole Homes Repair Fund, which would use stimulus money to provide grants to homeowners and landlords alike to make renovations big and small.
Browne, Senate Republicansโ top budget negotiator, is one of the billโs five GOP co-sponsors. Another backer, state Sen. David Argall (R., Schuylkill), has also proposed a plan to use stimulus money to help developers afford the inflated prices for building materials.
Representing part of the Coal Region, Argall said that heโs often sought state dollars to demolish old, rickety houses. Now, as his region attracts new employers, heโs switched gears to asking for money to โfix these houses up before they collapseโ โ potentially saving the state dollars in the end.
Argall said he talked with Browne about the issue this week.
โI know itโs on the list,โ Argall said. โWeโll see if it makes the final cut.โ
Insiders questioned whether an election year spending spree could pass muster with more conservative lawmakers in the state House.
Both Browne and Saylor, the senior Republicans charged with negotiating the budget, lost their primary elections this year, potentially empowering dissident members who oppose new spending.
Legislative Republicansโ messaging has also been critical of spending seen as excessive, such as Wolfโs proposal to use the stimulus money to send some Pennsylvanians $2,000 checks.
The state House Republican Policy Committee, which develops and messages policy goals, is set to focus on inflation this week. One planned meeting is called โHow Radical Liberal Policies Have Driven Inflation to Historic Highs.โ
Referencing the meetings, state Rep. David Rowe (R., Union) said state-level Republicans could combat inflation by reducing overall state spending and reducing the size and scope of government.
The stateโs current windfall, Rowe said, needs โto be spent on single-use issuesโ such as infrastructure projects, โas opposed to setting up new bureaucracies, new agencies, new spending that weโre going to have to then continue to appropriate for going forward, because this money is not coming back again.โ
Rowe said heโll wait to see the final budget plan before making a decision on how heโll vote.
Democrats, who have their own spending priorities, expressed optimism that a deal could be reached.
While acknowledging that โthe vibeโ from the recent primaries didnโt seem conducive to compromise, state House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) said this yearโs surplus should be an incentive for both sides โto negotiate in good faith and really get it out the door to folk who are struggling.โ
โTo do nothing,โ she added, โis not acceptable.โ
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