(The Center Square) – Three session days remain on the legislative calendar for this year, but it’s unclear if lawmakers will bring a completed budget along with them into 2024.
Nearly six months past due, the General Assembly and Gov. Josh Shapiro lack agreement on code bills that enable funding for education programs high on the priority list for both chambers.
The progress since Shapiro signed an initial spending plan in August – which completed about 75 percent of the process – has been incremental, with support for ambulance reimbursement rates, hospital relief and an emergency savings deposit finding a way to the governor’s desk.
The rest – including extra money for struggling districts, mental health and school safety grants, funding for school environmental repairs, community colleges, public libraries and educational tax credits – remain up in the air.
It would not be the first time a budget limped into a new year undone, though it’s not an example legislative sources thought the new administration would want to emulate.
Shapiro, for his part, says it’s up to the divided Legislature to hash out agreements and send them to his desk. That’s been an uphill battle.
The Republican-majority Senate and Democratic-majority House ping-ponged bills throughout the fall, though each time key provisions – like the Senate’s priority funding for school choice tax credits or the House’s preference for bigger block grants – were amended out, much to the chagrin of each other.
The most recent attempt, House Bill 301, included $150 million for the former and $295 million for the latter. The proposal passed the Senate 45-5, though the House amended out the school choice money before sending it back to the upper chamber for agreement.
The move, according to sources, threw a wrench into the plan. It’s unclear what the next move will be. A Senate leadership spokeswoman said the voting agenda for the last three session days of the year is still undecided.
The Center Square reached out to House Democrats for comment about negotiations but did not receive a response before publication.
Both chambers return to Harrisburg on Dec. 11, though any unfinished business will follow them into January. Shapiro will reveal his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year in February.
Christen Smith is the Pennsylvania editor for The Center Square newswire service and co-host of Pennsylvania in Focus, a weekly podcast on America’s Talking Network. Find her work in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Broad + Liberty, RealClear, the Washington Examiner, and elsewhere.
This article was republished with permission from The Center Square.
Shapiro is full of baloney. His proposed budget includes revenue from taxes on illegal drug sales, and proposed carbon “taxes” found to be unconstitutional. Shapiro is a bully, a jackass, and just plain wrong on so many issues. He’s polite and well spoken. But he’s an empty suit punk that lets children get shot and remain uneducated in Philadelphia.
1. Promise: Shapiro said he would sign legislation that allows counties to begin tabulating mail ballots before Election Day, a process common in states with widespread mail voting. Status: Shapiro did not bring to completion or reality; achieve or realize this very specific promise.
2. Shapiro allows murder and mayhem in Macy’s during the holidays. Promise: He said he would curb violent crime in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Status: Shapiro did not bring to completion or reality; achieve or realize this very specific promise.
3. Promise: Shapiro would allow incarcerated people to apply for geriatric parole (get-out-of-jail because they were old) and supported expunging the records of those serving time for nonviolent marijuana convictions. Status: Shapiro did not bring to completion or reality; achieve or realize this very specific promise.
4.Promise: Shapiro said he would include a line item for an indigent defense fund in his first budget. Status: Shapiro did not bring to completion or reality; achieve or realize this very specific promise because it has not been passed; however, Shapiro did try his best by vetoing a school choice program.
5. Promise: Shapiro said he would put Pennsylvania on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Status: this was a ridiculous promise and there was no way he could achieve it.
6. Promise: Shapiro said he would raise Pennsylvania’s 2030 target for renewable or clean electricity production from the current goal of 8% to 30%. Status: Shapiro did not bring to completion or reality; achieve or realize this very specific promise because it is a fool’s errand.
7. Promise: Shapiro thought raising the PA’s $7.25 per hour minimum wage rate to $15 an hour was a good idea. Status: Economists found that in the stores that experienced a minimum wage hike, workers on average worked fewer hours per week, were less likely to qualify for benefits, and had less-consistent schedules. These factors corresponded to an average 11.6% decrease in total compensation for every $1 increase in the minimum wage.