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Tuesday, Feb. 4, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) addressed the General Assembly, proposing his 2020-2021 budget for the commonwealth. The proposal, totaling $36.1 billion in spending with a focus on education and workforce revitalization, was met with mixed reviews by the Republican-controlled state house. The governor’s recommendation is a 4 percent, or $2 billion, increase from last year’s budget but does not raise the commonwealth’s sales or income tax rate; therefore, the proposal relies on the continued economic growth that Pennsylvania has seen over the past year. The governor also balanced his budget by endorsing a spending cut for the state prison system justified by declining inmate populations across the commonwealth.
A major winner in the proposed budget is the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Wolf’s proposal provides $204 million in potential scholarships for low- and moderate-income students seeking to attend one of Pennsylvania’s state-sponsored universities. Funding for the scholarships would come from the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund. The Race Horse Development Fund uses proceeds from slot machines to offset the losses in horse racing purses due to other forms of gambling.
“Let’s bet on our kids instead of bankrolling race horse owners and ensure the viability of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education,” Wolf said in defense of this transfer. The proposal has been met with opposition by the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition. Pete Peterson, executive director of the coalition, said the governor’s initiative “would result in the end of horse racing in Pennsylvania by eviscerating the primary funding source for the purses and breeder incentives that serve as the lifeblood of the industry.”
Wolf also included $1 billion to remove any remaining lead and asbestos in Pennsylvania’s aging public schools. “Let’s make sure that every parent who sends their kid off on the bus this September can spend less time worrying about mold, lead and asbestos, and more time looking forward to finding out what their kids have learned when they get home,” Wolf said. Other aspects of education spending include an increase in funding for free all-day kindergarten and $435 million in aid to state public schools, including an increase in teacher pay.
Wolf has also included billions to develop Pennsylvania’s workforce. The cornerstone of this plan is a proposal to increase the state’s minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $12/hour by July 1. The governor has been an advocate for raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage since his reelection in 2018, citing the fact that all the states that border the commonwealth have raised their minimum wage to between $8.70/hour (Ohio) and $11.80/hour (New York).
“Is this driving Pennsylvanians across our borders to work jobs in neighboring states? You bet,” Wolf said. Despite the proposal, many believe the assembly will only raise the minimum to $8/hour by July 1st, with small increases every six months until it reaches $9.50/hour Jan. 1, 2022 following the plan passed by the state senate last year as laid out in SB79.
The governor’s budget also invests in programs that he believes will help Pennsylvanians get back to work such as off-hour childcare, transportation and retaining programs. Furthermore, the proposal continues to support efforts that work to remove barriers for individuals leaving the state’s prison system.
Currently, Wolf’s budget is in the hands of the state legislators, who will evaluate the proposals and attempt to reach an agreement on a spending plan by June 30, 2020. If a deal is not reached by the end of the fiscal year, the commonwealth will enter a government shutdown.
