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Local lawmakers respond to budget proposal

Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a more than $51 billion spending plan Tuesday that was both lauded for seeking additional money for underfunded public schools and panned for “unsustainable” spending increases.

“While we understand this is a starting point in the process, Gov. Shapiro’s budget proposal increases spending far beyond sustainable levels,” said House Republican Appropriations Chairman Jim Struzzi, R-Indiana.

Shapiro’s plan includes raising nearly $1.2 billion from legalizing adult-use marijuana, expanding how the corporate net income tax is applied and introducing taxes on skill games.

“Shapiro is once again pushing a tax-and-spend agenda when we should be prioritizing policies that will ignite our economy,” said House Republican Whip Tim O’Neal, R-Washington.

O’Neal said investing in Pennsylvania’s energy industry will not only bring utility costs down “but generate millions more in revenue than any tax dreamed up by the governor.”

House Republican Leader Jesse Topper, R-Bedford/Fulton, said to truly balance this, and any future budgets, Pennsylvania needs policy that will drive real growth in Pennsylvania’s energy economy.

“Here is what we can say with certainty about the governor’s proposed budget — this will not be the final product: It spends too much, it grows government too much and is unsustainable in the future,” Topper said. “We need policies that grow the economy and create family-sustaining jobs if we want to really balance this and future budgets; and the House Republican Caucus is up to the challenge of creating and driving policy that grows our Commonwealth through Pennsylvania’s home-grown energy economy.”

Shapiro’s budget calls for an increase in spending, but holds the line of personal income and sales taxes. Instead, he proposes to use about $4.5 billion in reserve cash to balance the budget.

State Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, called the proposal “short-sighted and irresponsible.”

“Instead of a budget that puts us on sound financial footing, we were given one that spends more than it makes, is based on unrealistic estimates, and leaves our Rainy Day Fund and General Fund balance completely empty in less than two short years,” Ward said. “We cannot continue on this path, expecting taxpayers to bail us out through increased taxes. Rather, we need to get to the work of tightening our belt and living within our means just like the hard-working families that we are called to represent.”

State Rep. Lou Schmitt, R-Altoona, said there were parts of the governor’s plan he agreed with, but he “cannot support” Shapiro’s overall plan as it fails to address spending that will deplete the state’s surplus in a matter of years, which “will directly lead to gut-wrenching tax increases for the hard-working citizens of Pennsylvania.”

Schmitt said “expecting legalized marijuana to fill spending increases is just that, an expectation. First and foremost, legalizing the drug would be terrible for law and order in our Commonwealth. In fact, pediatric cannabis exposures in Colorado soared 170% between 2017, when the drug was still illegal, and 2021, three years after it was legalized.

“Tax revenue expectations have fallen short in states, such as Colorado and Washington, that legalized marijuana. Hedging our bets on a new sin tax to fix Pennsylvania’s fiscal woes is not sound budgeting.”

State Rep. Scott Barger, R-Blair/Huntingdon, said Shapiro’s budget proposal does not even pass the test of common sense.

“The governor wants us to raid all state savings, including the Rainy Day Fund. What renter, homeowner or small businessperson grappling with extraordinary inflation thinks now is a good time to deplete savings,” Barger asked.

“Now that we’ve gotten past the hurdle of an incredibly pricey wish list, the real work can begin in the House and Senate to craft a reasonable budget,” Barger said.

State police, fire grants lauded

State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, said he’s excited about the proposals to add to the state police complement, offer more grants to fire departments and address private

equity-owned hospitals.

“I’ve been vocal about the local challenges of Conemaugh Hospital being owned by the second largest private equity firm in the country; now Governor Shapiro is demanding action to hold these private equity firms accountable,” Burns said in a statement.

Shapiro spoke about how private equity is motivated to make a profit quickly at the expense of patients, hospital workers and the community, and that it’s time for the state to stand up and put into place safeguards, such as empowering the Attorney General’s Office to review all sales, mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcy claims, keeping a community’s best interests in the forefront.

“Governor Shapiro is well aware of the troubling issues with private equity-owned hospitals, like Conemaugh Hospital, and that’s why he called for major health care reforms in his budget,” Burns said.

“The governor also talked about adding 432 new state troopers to the Pennsylvania State Police. Johns­town struggles under the weight of a devastating mix of poverty and crime, fueled by a huge transient public housing population coming largely from Philadelphia, and an infusion of hundreds of additional troopers would go a long way in combating crime and helping residents to feel safe,” he said.

“I also was pleased to hear about the governor’s proposal for an additional grant program to help fire departments. … This is another example of our commitment to first responders, who serve our community regardless of time, day or weather,” Burns said.

Shapiro’s budget address is only the first step in the process. In the weeks ahead, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a series of hearings to closely examine the spending plan to determine how it can be improved. The hearings will begin Feb. 18 and run through March 6.

“In the upcoming budget hearings, House Republicans will work diligently to analyze this proposal and determine the best path forward,” Struzzi said. “Hopefully we will find areas of common ground as we work toward the sustainable, responsible and on-time budget that Pennsylvanians deserve.”

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