State budget season gets underway next week.
On Tuesday, the State House and Senate Appropriations Committees will begin a close examination of the budget proposal put forward by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. For the Senate, it will begin Tuesday morning with hearings with the Department of Revenue in the morning, and the State System of Higher Education and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. The schedule for the House that day will include hearings with the Department of Community and Economic Development in the morning and the Department of Revenue in the afternoon.
On February 4th, Governor Josh Shapiro presented his draft budget to the state government. The $51.4 billion spending plan includes calls for increased funding for state-owned schools, the legalization of recreational marijuana, and changes to the state energy policy. Shapiro’s budget would increase spending by 7.6%, according to State Senator Joe Pittman. He said the budget hearings will give them a chance to thoroughly examine the plan and ask administration officials about the need for any proposed increases.
State Representative Jim Struzzi, who is the Republican chair of the House Appropriations Committee has called Shapiro’s plan “unsustainable” and criticized what he said was Shapiro’s refusal or failure to remove polices restricting the state’s energy industry.
Comments