Republican lawmakers representing the Lehigh Valley voice cautious optimism on Gov. Tom Wolf’s fiscal year 2017-18 budget presented Tuesday.
“Now the devil’s in the details,” state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in remarks shared via Twitter. “We’ll have to do our due diligence as part of the Senate appropriations process to make sure it works.”
Wolf’s $32.3 billion spending plan, 3.2 percent bigger than this fiscal year’s budget, includes an ambitious consolidation of four departments — Human Services, Health, Aging and Drug and Alcohol Programs — into one Department of Health and Human Services. It’s an idea floated for years but never acted on, Browne said.
“The consolidation proposal is a huge proposal: $34 billion department, it’s going to grow from there,” he said, noting that the governor needs to demonstrate the ability to provide better service at lower prices. “If it’s just bigger government it’s just not going to do what we need it to do. So that’s going to be a big issue.”
Sen. Lisa Boscola, a Democrat like Wolf, called the budget “a workable solution to the state’s financial challenges.”
“I share the governor’s interest in cutting and consolidating government services by $2.1 billion to avoid raising” sales or income taxes, she said in a statement. “Cutting, consolidating and modernizing state government will not only enable us to close the budget deficit, but will also empower us to invest more dollars in creating jobs, reinvigorating our manufacturing sector and adequately funding our schools.”
Boscola, who represents communities in Lehigh and Northampton counties, called for more work on reducing or eliminating local property taxes, and voiced hope that the budget will be passed on time by June 30.
My thoughts following today’s budget address. Encouraged by the govt. efficiency & job creation pts. @GovernorTomWolf @LtGovStack #pabudget pic.twitter.com/gOX79v77kH
— Senator Lisa Boscola (@SenLisaBoscola) February 7, 2017
Wolf’s budget does raise some taxes — by $1 billion — largely by imposing a new tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling and eliminating what his administration views as tax loopholes. It also eliminates sales-tax exemptions on custom programming, design and data processing; commercial storage; and aircraft sales, use and repair.
Central to the budget is additional money for education funding, including pre-kindergarten, special education and Head Start assistance.
State Rep. Joseph Emrick, R-Northampton, said he welcomes “the change of tone” of the governor.
“He has come to the realization that fiscal responsibility is the course Pennsylvania must take in order to turn around our economy and set us on a path to prosperity,” Emrick said in a statement.
“Today’s address is a good start,” Emrick stated, “and I’m anxious to work with my colleagues to pass a fiscally responsible budget that protects the hard-working taxpayers of Pennsylvania.”
How Gov. Wolf wants to plug a $3B deficit
State Rep. Marcia Hahn, R-Northampton, also called the proposal a good starting point, according to a statement.
“Gov. Wolf’s budget address is a distinct and refreshing change from those of his first two years in office when broad-based taxes were his default way of solving our revenue problems,” stated Hahn, a majority member of the House Appropriations Committee that will hold hearings on the budget. “Choosing a fiscally responsible path to prosperity is what taxpayers demand and deserve, and I applaud his change of heart.”
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Berks/Lehigh, credited Republican arguments against “more broad-based taxes and increased spending” with helping to sway Wolf’s budgetary view.
“I am intrigued by some of his proposals and look forward to learning more about his plans to reduce costs,” he stated. “As the old saying goes, ‘The devil is in the details.'”
Newly elected state Rep. Zach Mako, R-Lehigh/Northampton, said his focus is on property tax reform, job creation and infrastructure improvements.
“Any final budget must rein in government spending, not burden taxpayers, and signal Pennsylvania is open for business,” Mako stated. “Now is the time to restart Pennsylvania. We need to grow the commonwealth’s economy.”
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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