Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf’s sixth budget: What can we expect?

The focus will likely be on unfinished items on his policy to-do list – many of them retreads from past years.

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(Harrisburg) — When Gov. Tom Wolf delivers his sixth budget address to the General Assembly on Tuesday, parts of it are expected to sound familiar to anyone who has tuned in to his budget speeches in the past.

That became clear through a series of budget announcements held over the past two weeks that focused on unfinished items on his policy to-do list – many of them retreads from past years.

He confirmed that with reporters last week, saying some of the things he’ll be talking about are “new but I think they are old themes basically trying to make Pennsylvania a better place.”

Wolf said he has no intention of calling for an increase in the state’s 3.07% personal income or 6% sales tax, which would be a non-starter with the GOP-controlled Legislature anyway.

The governor will deliver his 2020-21 budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the chamber of the House of Representatives.

Information on his budget proposal and the text of the speech will be posted on PennLive throughout the day on Tuesday. The budget address will also be carried live on PCN.

Many anticipate the governor will propose only a modest increase in spending above this year’s $34 billion general fund budget that will remain within the state’s anticipated revenue growth. The state’s Independent Fiscal Office projected a 3% increase in revenue, or about $1.3 billion, for the next fiscal year in its latest mid-year budget report.

Wolf will undoubtedly call for increased funding for public education and preschool. He has succeeded in driving up the amount of money for school districts and preschool programs every year since taking office in 2015, building on this being a signature accomplishment of his administration.

In another education-related initiative, Wolf made it known last week he is asking for a $1 billion increase in the borrowing limit for the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Grants programs to fund lead and asbestos remediation in schools. In Philadelphia, asbestos has forced the closure of multiple school buildings over the past year.

Some expect to hear him call for additional funding to support the State System of Higher Education’s request for additional funding to aid in its restructuring efforts. There’s also rumblings in higher education circles about the possibility of the governor calling for some additional grant or scholarship aid directed to college students.

Wolf will continue to press for a $12-an-hour minimum wage with a path to pushing that up to $15 by 2025. That also was the focus of a news conference last week, just a couple days before the Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved his request to expand eligibility for overtime pay beyond federal thresholds.

The governor also will renew his call for lawmakers to support his $4.5 billion infrastructure improvement plan called Restore PA that he unveiled last year. He wants to borrow the money and pay it back through proceeds from a severance tax on natural gas drillers that draws ardent opposition from many Republicans.

There also is speculation Wolf will issue a fresh call in support of Pennsylvania’s participation in the northeastern states’ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program covering power plant emissions.

RGGI requires electric power plants fueled by coal, oil or natural gas to buy a credit for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. The credits are sold at quarterly auctions, giving energy generators the choice of either paying more for a shrinking supply of allowances, or taking other steps to reduce their emissions to so that they don’t have buy as many in the first place.

At Pennsylvania’s current emissions rates, the program could generate as much as $300 million annually here.

Wolf last summer signaled a willingness to use RGGI proceeds as an alternate way to fund his Restore PA program. But since the administration is still in the midst of drafting regulations for RGGI participation at present, so It’s not clear that the state could count on that money in the 2020-21 budget year.

Workforce development is another topic on Wolf’s to-do list.

He’ll likely call for initiatives identified by a task force of business and labor union leaders and administration officials to help unemployed and under-employed Pennsylvanians overcome the barriers that keep them out of the workforce.

Among that panel’s recommendations were increased access to high-quality child care and extending Unemployment Compensation benefits beyond the 26-week maximum to encourage jobless workers to enroll in job training programs.

Wolf already announced his plan to ask for $40 million-plus to help improve services for the vulnerable, including children and the elderly, and expand direct care services to more people with disabilities who are on a waiting list.

He also shared his “PA Innovation” plan that requests a $12.35 million funding increase to help make the state more competitive in attracting and retaining entrepreneurs and startup companies through various strategies that include partnering with higher education institutions.

Franklin & Marshall College political scientist G. Terry Madonna said he anticipates Wolf will have a few new ideas in his budget but will offer them with this in mind.

“If it costs money or is politically divisive ideologically, he’s not going to get it,” Madonna said. “Remember he still has to deal with Republicans who are in control of the General Assembly. But I don’t think Wolf is going to back off the agenda that he has put out there either. He’s not going to surrender his governorship and lay down.”

Lawmakers, meanwhile, are hoping to see the governor address a few more issues of importance to them.

Republicans will be looking for a budget that shows fiscal restraint and looks for ways to make government operate more efficiently and makes investments in areas that promote job growth.

Democrats, beyond what their party’s governor wants, hope to see some initiatives that focus on gun violence prevention programs. Some also are hoping the governor renews his request for a fee-for-service from municipalities that rely on the Pennsylvania State Police for providing day-to-day police protection.

Among other areas where they hope to see increased investment is in public assistance, more staffing to manage environmental programs and enforcement, and a renewed call for charter school reform.

The governor’s address kicks off budget season.

It is followed by a vetting of the governor’s proposals in a series of House and Senate budget hearings that begin Feb. 18 and run over the course of three weeks. After that, legislative leaders and administration officials dive into serious negotiations to try to reach an agreement on a spending plan by the time the current fiscal year ends on June 30.

 

PennLive and The Patriot-News are partners with PA Post.