Pennsylvania’s government is in the middle of a gridlock over the creation of the state’s budget for the new fiscal year. The state has now gone over two months without a completed budget.
Most states have to come up with their own new budget each year, while the others create a new one biennially. The fiscal year for individual state governments begins on July 1, and it begins in October for the federal government.
A budget plan must first be submitted by the governor. This typically happens near the start of the calendar year. The state legislature then reviews and debates the budget and makes any changes upon which the majority can agree. The public can also attend these budget hearings, giving civilians a say in fund allocation. After the legislature is finished developing the final budget, the governor can sign or veto it.
Michigan, the only other state without a completed budget, is facing a potential crisis. If the gridlock persists, the government will effectively shut down. State employees will not be able to be paid, and every state funded service, regardless of importance, will be impacted.
Pennsylvania is mostly able to avoid this emergency because of a previous state Supreme Court ruling that state workers must be paid in the event of a budget impasse. However, this does not apply to some workers, such as public school teachers. The state government will have to take out loans to pay these workers, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.
The most divisive issue with the budget is public transportation. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has a quarter-billion-dollar budget deficit for which it blames the lack of funding and patronage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Republican majority in the state Congress argues that SEPTA should not get as much funding as it already does, while the Democrats claim that Philadelphia’s widely-used mass transit system will not survive without it.
SEPTA planned to limit regional metro services to combat the deficit, but this plan was blocked in the Court of Common Pleas after several regular metro riders challenged the movement. This ruling did not overturn the minor cuts that SEPTA made to bus lines and the frequency of certain metro lines that were implemented on Aug. 24. It also did not overturn the 21.5% fare increase that was instated on Sep. 14.
For SEPTA to be able to afford the continuation of its normal services on top of its massive deficit, the association was granted an assistance fund by PennDOT. The money from this fund was meant to be used for occasional maintenance and not for daily operation of the public transit system. These funds will only be a temporary fix; until the budget is passed, SEPTA does not have any other funding from the state of Pennsylvania.
While Pennsylvania’s legislators continue to argue over the budget, the state’s lawmakers have several ideas to fund transit as well as to stem the flow of the general budget deficit that could increase by billions of dollars this year.
One idea is to legalize recreational cannabis usage. Government involvement in the cannabis market could potentially make up for some of SEPTA’s budget deficit. Governor Josh Shapiro sees this as a win-win, as cannabis legalization has been on his agenda for some time. However, disagreements within the Senate and the lobbying of several interest groups will likely stop this plan from coming to fruition anytime soon.
With the fate of public transit in jeopardy and the funding towards services like public schools uncertain, Pennsylvanian legislators continue to argue over where their constituents’ money should go.
