The most remarkable thing about the just-passed state budget might be how unremarkable it is.
In a flurry of activity leading up to Sunday's start of the new fiscal year, the Legislature passed and the governor signed a $27.7 budget plan that increases spending slightly from the previous year but doesn't include big, new initiatives.
The budget also doesn't raise sales or income taxes, which is welcome news for many families.
For schools, the enacted budget is a plus, avoiding the cuts that Gov. Tom Corbett had initially proposed in February when it appeared more austerity would be needed because of weaker than anticipated tax collections.
Fortunately, since then the fiscal outlook brightened, although it's clear growth in the national and state economies remains sluggish.
Public school districts will see a less than 1 percent increase in funding for operations and instruction. In addition, the General Assembly kept the $100 million in accountability grants used to fund full-day kindergarten that Corbett had proposed eliminating. That can be chalked up as a win.
The same can be said for colleges and universities, which are looking at flat state funding for the next 12 months, instead of the reductions the governor had suggested.
Stable or slightly reduced funding largely is the norm for many state operations under the new budget, although Pennsylvania is allocating more for debt payments and for covering the cost of pension obligations.
One reduction that might garner more public attention could be eliminating cash payments for about 70,000 general welfare assistance participants and minimum work requirements for about 30,000 medically needy welfare recipients.
Overall, though, this budget season has been largely a yawner without the need for drastic cuts or squabbles over the addition of big programs that have created drama in previous years. Sure, there were battles over specific programs and complaints when funding didn't follow a particular constituency's desires.
Perhaps in a difficult fiscal climate, a largely fireworks-free budget season just might be the best result Pennsylvanians could hope to get.
