Sep. 24, 2015
HARRISBURG – The state House of Representatives today sent an emergency funding plan designed to aid struggling human service providers and school districts desperate for their state subsidies to the governor’s desk, said Rep. John Payne (R-Dauphin), who supported the effort.
“Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of the full state budget we sent him on June 30 is causing real problems for real people. Domestic violence response and prevention agencies, rape crisis centers, schools, cancer screening providers and many others are in danger of limiting services, laying off employees or completely shutting down. While legislative leaders and the governor continue to negotiate a 2015-16 state budget, this emergency money is needed now to keep our schools and our community organizations up and running.”
Senate Bill 1000 and 1001 include state appropriations amounting to $11 billion, retroactively to July 1 and carrying through to Oct. 31. In addition to four months (or 33.3 percent) of state aid based on House Bill 1192’s levels, the emergency funding bill would allow $24.3 billion in federal dollars to reach their intended recipients.
“When Republicans, Democrats and the governor agree on a third of the line items in the state budget, there is no reason our students, families and most vulnerable citizens should have to suffer,” Payne said. “If citizens still have to pay taxes during the stalemate, than they should get the benefit of seeing those tax dollars put to good use instead of just sitting in the State Treasury coffers.”
With House and Senate approval of the emergency funding bills this week, the decision on whether these critical human services and schools receive their state and federal money rests solely with the governor.
Payne noted that this emergency funding does not diminish the urgency to enact a full 2015-16 state budget and that legislative leaders will continue working earnestly to ensure a final spending plan is realistic, balanced and responsible to the needs of hard-working taxpayers.
To view Payne’s video comments on the emergency funding plan, visit
Youtube.com/RepPayne.
Representative John Payne
106th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Abbey Haslam
717.260.6222
ahaslam@pahousegop.com
RepPayne.com