Jan. 23, 2017
HARRISBURG – Rep. George Dunbar (R-Westmoreland) has been appointed to serve as majority vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee for the 2017-18 legislation session. In addition, Dunbar will serve as member of the Commerce, Finance (vice chairman) and Gaming Oversight committees.
The high-profile House Appropriations Committee is primarily tasked with drafting an annual balanced budget proposal that allocates operating funds to public education and most other state agencies and departments. The committee is also charged with reviewing all legislation to analyze the fiscal impact any legislative proposal may have on Commonwealth funds.
“As vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, I now have a more prominent role in working to ensure Pennsylvania’s fiscal house is in order during all state budget hearings and negotiations,” said Dunbar, a certified public accountant, businessman and former Penn Township commissioner. “As a strong fiscal conservative who has actively sought to reduce the tax burden on Pennsylvania taxpayers and the companies that bring jobs here, I am very gratified to be in a position to do more.”
Dunbar has served on the Appropriations Committee since 2015, where he has been an active participant in the annual series of state budget hearings, and has kept a close watch over how taxpayer dollars are spent. During budget hearings, he routinely engages cabinet secretaries, department heads, college presidents and hospital officials on their budget requests. He methodically challenges them, forcing them to justify their use of state tax dollars from the standpoint of performance-based budgeting.
Since taking office in 2011, Dunbar has successfully advanced three major pieces of fiscal reform legislation into law. For example, Act 42 of 2014 shields Pennsylvania job creators from being double-taxed by various municipalities, cities and other local governments.
“I am proud to name Rep. George Dunbar as vice chairman for the House Appropriations Committee,” said Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York), majority chairman of the committee. “George has been an integral member of the committee and his background as a certified public accountant will aid the committee as we tackle this year’s General Fund Budget. He has demonstrated the ability to thoughtfully analyze complex issues and find commonsense solutions. George has the interests of Pennsylvania taxpayers at heart and I look forward to having him by my side.”
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Representative George Dunbar
56th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Ty McCauslin
717.772.9979
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