State Senate approves budget deal
Calkins Media
HARRISBURG – This year’s state budget was worth the wait, southwestern Pennsylvania lawmakers said Monday.
The state Senate approved a nearly $27.5 billion spending, which would increase state basic education by about 3 percent in Fayette County schools.
The state House of Representatives started debating the spending plan late Monday night and was expected to send the measure to Gov. Ed Rendell’s desk – more than two weeks past the June 30 budget deadline.
Rep. Deberah Kula, a Fayette County Democrat, said most lawmakers would like to see more funding for schools, but believed the budget was acceptable.
“I think this budget has been worth the wait,” she said.
Sen. Gerald J. LaValle, a Beaver County Democrat, hailed the budget for increasing spending without raising taxes.
“I think overall my district will do well,” LaValle said. “I think most of my school districts fared decently. Would I like to see them get more money? Sure.”
In his February budget address, Gov. Ed Rendell had proposed raising the state sales tax, increasing fees paid by waste haulers, imposing a fee on companies that do not provide health insurance for employees and a surcharge on electric bills.
None of those increases will be enacted under the budget, which increases spending by about 4.5 percent.
But Rendell prevailed in his push to get $90 million this year for the laptop computers and $75 million for the pre-kindergarten programs.
Statewide, basic education funding will climb by about 3.5 percent.
Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Fayette County Democrat, also applauded the lack of tax increases in a budget that was built with the help of a $650 million budget surplus.
Environmental groups on Monday hailed a tentative agreement that would avoid siphoning $40 million in funding for parks, libraries, state museums and conservation programs to pay for cleaning up toxic waste sites.
Jan Jarrett, vice president of Harrisburg-based environmental watchdog PennFuture, said lawmakers will wait until this fall to figure out how to pay for the hazardous waste cleanup fund, which will be drained on Sept. 30.
“It lets us dodge a bullet,” said Jarrett, who last week claimed that cutting $40 million from the Keystone Fund would represent the largest ever decrease in conservation funding.
Kori Walter can be reached at 717-705-6330 or kwalter@phillyburbs.com.