2/8/17
by News Department on 02/08/17PA Budget...
PA Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a $32.3 billion budget for fiscal 2017-18 Tuesday that seeks to erase red ink by shrinking state government and closing tax loopholes while modestly increasing state support for public education.
The proposal also includes $230 million to cover additional expenses in the current year.
His proposal provides a $100 million increase for the basic education subsidy and $75 million increase for pre-kindergarten childhood education if adopted by lawmakers.
Wolf reaffirmed an earlier decision not to seek increases in the state personal income and state sales taxes and called for a 6.5 percent state severance tax on natural gas production and again, an increase in the state minimum wage for workers — this time from $7.25 an hour to $12 an hour.
The governor and lawmakers face a $416 million revenue shortfall in the current fiscal 2016-17 budget, and an overall budget deficit of nearly $3 billion when increases in public pension and human services costs are factored in and the disappearance of one-time revenue sources are accounted for.
