Pennsylvania Senate Republican News Brief

"The good news is, after 73 days of waiting, we do have an appropriations bill from the House of Representatives. The bad news is, the bill fails to meet the constitutional mandate of a balanced budget."

-- Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman (R-Centre) on House Bill 1416, the budget plan passed by the House of Representatives.

SENATE TO MOVE BUDGET PROCESS FORWARD

The Senate continues to work on moving the state budget process forward this week. The chamber is expected to amend the budget bill approved by the House of Representatives to restore key funding and balance the budget without tax increases.

Committee Reports House Budget With Negative Recommendation

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman (R-Centre) and Senate Majority Whip Jane Orie (R-Allegheny) met with media Saturday after the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to report House Bill 1416 to the full Senate with a "negative recommendation."

The Republican leaders opposed the House plan to remove higher education from the General Fund budget. The House proposal would either create a $1.3 billion deficit in the budget requiring Pennsylvania to either raise taxes or strip funding from State System of Higher Education universities, state-related universities (Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Lincoln University) and community colleges.

SENATE PASSES FUNDAMENTAL REFORM OF BUDGET PROCESS 

The Senate on Thursday passed a landmark bill to fundamentally reform Pennsylvania’s budgeting process to expedite the procedure while increasing transparency and accountability in state government. 

Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), establishes a Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO), a non-partisan bi-cameral agency with expertise in financial matters. The LFO would have access to the same agency and department financial information as the Governor’s Budget Office.   

Senator Browne said: "This year, more than ever, we see the need for the LFO. One of the key duties of this office will be to set a binding revenue estimate by June 15 for the coming fiscal year. This would clearly set the parameters by which the Legislature can consider a spending plan." (For more on Senate Bill 1, please see In the Spotlight and Fast Facts, below.)
 Senator Browne
 Senator Pileggi
 Senator Corman
 Senator Folmer
 Senator Orie
 Senator Wonderling

SENATE GOP REFORM: GOVERNMENT SALARY INFORMATION ACT ADVANCES  

Legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) that would require the posting of governmental salary information on the Internet was approved Tuesday by the Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre).

Senate Bill 107 creates the Governmental Salary Information Act. The bill requires the State Treasurer to post all salary information for officers and employees of the Commonwealth. Local agencies are also required to post salary information for their officers and employees.

The measure is part of a 10-bill Senate Republican package designed to continue changing the culture of state government by increasing accountability and transparency. 

Committee Approves Bill Allowing Surviving Spouses to File Joint Returns

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), approved legislation Wednesday that will allow a surviving spouse to file a joint state income tax return. 

Senate Bill 953, introduced by Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks), amends the Tax Reform Code to allow a surviving spouse to file a joint return for the year in which his or her spouse died if a joint return could have been filed if both spouses were living for the entire taxable year.  

The Finance Committee also approved: 

Senate Bill 918, introduced by Sen. John Eichelberger (R-Blair), consolidates the County Assessment Law, and reenacts the language in the General County Assessment Law, the Fourth to Eighth Class County Assessment Law, and the Third Class County Assessment Board Law pertaining to the subjects of local taxation, exemptions from taxation, and the method by which property is valued and assessed for taxation purposes.   

Senate Bill 952, introduced by Senator Tomlinson, eliminates penalties and interest for taxpayers who make estimated tax payments equal to the amount of the taxpayer’s liability for the preceding tax year. This would allow Pennsylvania taxpayers to estimate their tax payments in a manner similar to that which is allowed for Federal income taxes.
 

Senate Passes Measures to Promote Local Government Cooperation

The Senate unanimously passed two measures Saturday introduced by Sen. Jane Orie (R-Allegheny) to promote intergovernmental cooperation.

Senate Bill 282, introduced with Sen. John Pippy (R-Allegheny), would permit municipal authorities to enter into intergovernmental cooperation agreements with municipalities and/or other municipal authorities. 

Municipalities can currently enter into working relationships -- joint purchasing, contracts, equipment, and administrative functions -- with other municipalities in order to pool resources and save tax dollars. Senate Bill 282 would extend arrangements to municipal authorities and local governments. 

Senate Bill 284 would provide municipalities with additional time to enact conforming ordinances after the adoption of a multi-municipal comprehensive plan.
 Senator Orie

While the Governor and Legislature must agree on spending during budget negotiations, the Administration currently has sole discretion over setting the revenue projection for the upcoming fiscal year.

Under Senate Bill 1, the Legislative Fiscal Office would submit a preliminary revenue estimate during the second week of February, a week after the Governor traditionally presents his budget request for the upcoming fiscal year. The LFO would then submit a binding revenue estimate for the upcoming fiscal year by June 15.

Senate Bill 1 also requires state agencies and departments to submit their budget requests to the LFO at the same time they submit them to the Office of the Budget. Pennsylvania is one of only eight states where the Legislature does not receive the agency budget requests.

The LFO would also develop performance measures for state programs and departments and evaluate the performance reviews of those programs and departments as reported by the Administration.