Shapiro’s Budgeting Would Lead to Tax Hikes and No Reserve Mar. 28, 2023 / When Gov. Josh Shapiro presented his first state budget proposal in early March, he painted a rosier-than-reality picture of Pennsylvania’s financial future. The $45.8 spending plan for Fiscal Year 2023-24 is nearly 6% higher than the current year and he’s counting on using part of the budget surplus to balance it. Overburdened taxpayers should be worried, as it only gets worse from there.
Staats Appointed to Commission on Education and Economic Competitiveness Mar. 28, 2023 / HARRISBURG – Rep. Craig Staats (R-Bucks) has recently been appointed to serve on the Commission on Education and Economic Competitiveness for the 2023-24 Legislative Session.
Department of Aging Budget Hearing Wrap Mar. 27, 2023 / Acting Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich along with Deputy Secretary Steven Horner, and PACE Program Director Tom Sneddon testified before the House Appropriations Committee. House Republicans focused their questions on how the department is going to control costs for seniors and the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania continues to face budgetary challenges given the significant growth in the elderly population and the contraction in the working -age population.
Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Budget Hearing Wrap Mar. 27, 2023 / Colonel Christopher Harris, Major Joanne Reed, Major George Bivens, Major Wayne Kline, and Ms. Brooke Mead of the Pennsylvania State Police testified before the House Appropriations Committee. House Republicans focused their questions on the staffing needs of the State Police, the functions of the State Police – such as background checks for gun purchases, aviation support, the Statewide Public Safety Radio System, and gaming enforcement. Additionally, House Republicans shared concerns with the creation of a new special fund, as proposed by the governor, to take all State Police funding offline, as well as the strain on the department in places like Philadelphia.