Jun. 25, 2019
HARRISBURG – Today, Rep. Rosemary M. Brown (R-Monroe/Pike), along with other House members, voted on and approved the 2019-20 state budget bill with a vote of 140-62.
House Bill 790 now heads to the Senate for concurrence.
The budget is set to spend roughly $34 billion, which is $149 million less than the governor’s original February proposal, and includes no new taxes or fees on Pennsylvania taxpayers.
“We as legislators are focused on the future of our Commonwealth and standing up for taxpayers,” said Brown. “As part of this year’s budget, we were able to invest over $250 million into our Rainy Day Fund with the help of an improving economy and our dedication to being fiscally responsible. This large investment will help protect taxpayers from future tax increases while also keeping Pennsylvania financially secure in case of an economic downturn.”
Brown continued, “Additionally, our strong economy has contributed to an 8% increase in Sales and Use Tax collections, a 5% increase in Personal Income Tax collections, and a 22% increase in Corporate Net Income tax collections, thus allowing us to further invest in progress with state priorities.”
Other key highlights of the 2019-20 state budget are as followed:
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$432 million increase for the PreK-12 education with a $160 million increase for basic education, a $50 million increase for special education, a $10 million increase career and technical education, a $25 million increase Pre-K Counts and $60 million for school security.
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$97 million increase to the General Fund for the Pennsylvania State Police, while continuing to decrease state police funding from the Motor License Fund. An additional $9.7 million has been allocated in the budget for three new cadet classes.
“The increase for special education is important to property taxes because it is one of the exceptions school districts can apply for to raise taxes beyond the rate of inflation,” concluded Brown. “By increasing funding, we are meeting a strong need of the school districts.”
It is expected that the state budget will be finished before the deadline of Sunday, June 30.
Representative Rosemary M. Brown
189th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives