The PA General Assembly will finalize the annual state budget.

​The PA General Assembly will finalize today the annual state budget. Senate Bill 1100 (Pat Browne, R-Lehigh), is a $45.2 billion budget plan includes an $850 million increase for K-12 school districts, plus increase spending by 2.9 percent over the 2021-22 budget.

It will also pay down $2 billion in “structural” debt and increase the Rainy-Day Fund to $5 billion, while preserving $3.6 billion of the state’s surplus for future budgets. Items include:
 

• The budget proposal also includes a phased reduction in the corporate net income tax from 9.99 percent to 4.99 percent over the next nine years.
• A state childcare tax credit equal to 30 percent of the federal credit
• Small businesses would also receive additional tax credits in the form of expense deductions for investments in equipment and growth (like kind exchanges) and by allowing them to carry forward tax liabilities for gains on property transactions.
• $1.7 billion to bring Medicaid payments to timely payments.
• $100 million in one-time federal relief funds for mental health access and resources in Pennsylvania
• $350 million repaid to the Workers’ Compensation Security Fund.
• Approximately $42 million to pay off outstanding debt in the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund
• A one-time 70 percent property tax rebate for senior citizens
• Additional funds for the utility assistance program.
• $45 million for election integrity and administration to be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development
• $50 million in federal relief funds for gun violence investigation and prosecution grants
• A $75 million increase to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s general fund
• $100 million in one-time federal relief funds for repair and development in Pennsylvania parks and forests
• Boosts the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs by a combined $125 million

 
Although the $525 million increase in basic education funding is less than half of Wolf’s $1.2 billion proposal, it is nonetheless a historic boost in state assistance for Pennsylvania public schools, education advocates have said. It also increases Level Up funding for the state’s 100 neediest school districts by $225 million and special education funding by $100 million. One-time grant programs for school security and mental health investments would each receive $100 million. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education would receive a $75 million increase in general fund money and $125 million in pandemic funding to pay for the ongoing process of integrating its campuses. 

Fiscal Code Summary

Human Services Code Summary

School Code Summary

Tax Code Summary