Regional lawmakers respond to state budget deal
The 2023-24 Pennsylvania state budget came about a week late and a couple hundred million dollars short of what Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed earlier this year, but he is set to sign a $45 billion spending plan that he said was a product of bipartisanship.
In a statement released after the Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved the budget on Wednesday, Shapiro said, 鈥淧ennsylvania is the only state in the nation with a full-time, divided Legislature 鈥� meaning that nothing gets done unless it can make it through our Republican-led Senate and our Democratic-led House.鈥� The governor, a Democrat, further said the budget makes 鈥渉istoric investments in public education, public safety, workforce development, agriculture and economic development.鈥�
Though the budget was not approved by the June 30 deadline, the delay was nowhere close to the nine-month budget standoff that Shapiro鈥檚 predecessor, Gov. Tom Wolf, also a Democrat, had with the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2016. That impasse centered on education funding and taxes.
This time around, the flashpoint in budget negotiations occurred when the House and Senate could not agree on a proposal that would have given vouchers to students in public schools that have been deemed 鈥渓ow-achieving鈥� so they could attend private schools. Shapiro had supported the program, but said he would use a line-item veto to take it out of the budget as a result of the dispute between the two chambers.
When the June 30 deadline came and went without a budget being approved, state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa, a Republican from Fayette County, complained in a statement that House Democrats were not focused on meeting the deadline and were instead proposing measures that would 鈥渇und menopause education, dictate what material is used for stuffed animals, and start a commission for a new state song.鈥�
The reaction of the rest of the solidly Republican legislative contingent in this corner of the state was mixed to negative. State Rep. Josh Kail, who represents parts of Washington and Beaver counties, slammed Shapiro for nixing the voucher plan and for keeping Pennsylvania in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a pact between 12 states on the Eastern Seaboard that seeks to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. In a statement, Kail accused the governor of 鈥渢urning his back on our children and families, once again ensuring that the commonwealth鈥檚 obstacles to opportunity remain in place.鈥�
Kail added, 鈥淭o see a governor bow down to special interests and veto a promise he campaigned on is more than disappointing. It is exactly what is wrong with the status quo in Harrisburg.鈥�
State Rep. Bud Cook, who represents Greene County and parts of the Mon Valley, said the budget 鈥渞epresents an increase in spending of 6%. It spends more than we expect to bring in and does nothing to address the long-term fiscal stability of the commonwealth.鈥�
These sentiments were echoed by state Rep. Ryan Warner of Fayette County, who said the budget 鈥渟pends beyond what we can afford.鈥� He also said Shapiro 鈥渟howed his true colors鈥� in nixing the scholarship proposal.
Jason Ortitay, who represents northern parts of Washington County and parts of southern Allegheny County, said one of the reasons he voted against the budget was Shapiro鈥檚 鈥渄ishonesty.鈥� He also said Pennsylvania needs to get its budget 鈥渋n line.鈥�
鈥淚 am very disappointed in what has transpired at the Capitol over the past two weeks,鈥� Ortitay said. 鈥淗arrisburg is more of a dysfunctional mess than ever before.鈥�
Tim O鈥橬eal, who represents Washington and the areas around it, voted no on the budget, and was also disappointed that the voucher program will be vetoed. While he was pleased with the levels of investment for education, overall he believes the budget 鈥減uts us on the wrong track.鈥�
When the budget was approved by the upper chamber, state Sen. Patrick Stefano of Fayette County praised additional money that had been provided for workforce development, and state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, whose district includes Washington, Greene and Beaver counties, was happy that $1.7 million had been dedicated to improving the permit process in the Department of Environmental Protection.
State Rep. Andrew Kuzma, who represents Monongahela, New Eagle, and other parts of eastern Washington County and southern portions of Allegheny County, could not be reached for comment.