PathWays PA Policy Blog

From our friends at the PCADV The House of Representatives will negotiate amendments to the House budget bill, HB2328 , this week. As advocates, we must keep the pressure on the Legislature to make the safety of PA citizens a priority with a funding increase to domestic violence and rape crisis services. One option being considered by leadership is to pass a bare-bones budget that does not raise taxes and eliminates the Governor's proposed increase to education, human services, domestic violence and rape crisis services, so your advocacy is more crucial than ever! Your support is more crucial than ever! You could: Call your members of the General Assembly and tell them to support Amendment A07794 offered to HB 2329 by Representative Sheryl Delozier Click here to send a message to your House and Senate members urging them to support Amendment A07794. Click here to message Senate members requesting support for an increase in domestic violence and rape crisis services fu...

With state tax revenues down considerably this year, the Legislature and Governor’s Office are debating how best to fund the budget for 2014-2015. No numbers are being discussed publically, but with a $1.2 billion revenue shortfall expected , it is clear that legislators will need to either make cuts, find new revenue, or create a combination of the two in order to have a balanced budget. Here are some of the revenue proposals that are floating around the Legislature: Approving Medicaid Expansion in Pennsylvania Enacting a 5% severance tax on natural gas extraction Creating a tax on smokeless tobacco and/or raising the cigarette tax Without increasing revenue in some form, programs will likely see across the board cuts, and some line items that were originally promised additional funding in the Governor’s budget (such as domestic violence services) will probably lose the new money AND possibly see less money than they received last year. To take action:  Decide what you w...

From our friends at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Legislators are seriously considering a "bare-bones" budget that would lock in recent cuts to education, make more cuts to all other state programs, and use a host of one-time gimmicks to balance it. Many lawmakers are open to expanding revenue instead of making more cuts, but to pass such a budget, they need to hear from you now. Sign an online petition to Governor Corbett and state legislators, calling on them to reject a cuts-only budget by enacting a long-overdue tax on gas drillers, halting corporate tax cuts, and expanding Medicaid now.

From our friends at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center  Tomorrow, at 3:30PM, the PBPC will host a webinar will special guests, State Senator Vincent Hughes and State Representative Gene DiGirolamo to discuss the current outlook on budget negotiations. Budget negotiations will move quickly and could end with another austere budget on June 30th. There is bipartisan interest in raising revenue, but cuts are inevitable unless there is vocal public opposition. Space is limited, so please RSVP here.

From our Friends at PCCY The General Assembly and governor have less than two months to agree on a budget by the June 30 deadline. It is critical we make our voices heard to protect and increase investments in early care and education. It is important for state legislators to hear from you now in support of increased early learning investments.  Click here to send a message to your state legislators in support of additional funding for early learning programs in the state budget. PathWays PA works closely with PCCY on early childhood education initiatives and policies.

The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will host their annual Budget Summit on February 20th at the Hilton Hotel in Harrisburg, PA to discuss the upcoming state budget negotiations and Governor Corbett's proposed funding levels. Issues that will be discussed include: Budget deficit in 2014 Education funding Human services funding A list of speakers will follow as the date of the event nears. Register Here