HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Billions of dollars for Pennsylvania’s public schools and social services will soon start flowing after months of delay, as lawmakers on Wednesday approved a $50.1 billion spending plan to break the state’s budget impasse.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was expected to sign the legislation by the end of the day.
A key concession to help seal a deal meant Democrats agreeing to Republican demands to back off any effort to make Pennsylvania the only major fossil fuel-producing state to force power plant owners to pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
Democrats won't get the amount of money that Shapiro originally sought in his initial budget proposal, but the deal — after weeks of closed-door negotiations — is expected to deliver substantial new sums to public schools and an earned income tax credit for lower earners, as Democrats had sought.
It will also bring relief that the stalemate is over.
“The win is that we’re going to, hopefully before the end of the day, have a funding plan for the commonwealth and that’s a win for everybody who’s been waiting on state resources," House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, told reporters in a Capitol hallway Wednesday morning.
The state House approved the budget around 12:45 p.m. that will increase funding for basic education across the state — a major priority for Democrats.
State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, said the budget represents investment at every level of education.
Allentown will get a basic education funding increase of $3.2 million this year; Parkland will get a $360,000 increase, according to state House figures.
“This budget represents our continued efforts to ensure fair funding for Parkland and Allentown schools, invests in critically needed mental health care, reduces costs for Pennsylvanians and gets stuff done in Pennsylvania,” Schlossberg said.
“We continue our historic work to address funding for our local school districts so they can make investments in the future of our students. The progress our schools make for students will only continue to strengthen our region as a great place to call home, work and do business.”
In Lehigh County, basic education funding will increase this amount over last year for the following school districts: Whitehall-Coplay, $382,607; East Penn, $262,000; Catasauqua, $144,000; Northern Lehigh, $115,000; Northwestern Lehigh, $57,131; and Salisbury, $65,044.
In Northampton County, Bethlehem Area School District is set to receive an increase of $886,216 in basic education funds; Easton Area, $420,000; Nazareth Area, $176,000; and Northampton Area, $250,000.
The budget votes in the politically divided Legislature came weeks after counties, school districts and social service agencies are warning of mounting layoffs, borrowing costs and growing damage to the state’s safety net.
School districts, rape crisis agencies and county-run social services have gone without state aid since July 1, when the state lost some of its spending authority without a signed state budget in force.
The agreement to back off the carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program on power plants comes six years after then-Gov. Tom Wolf made joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative the centerpiece of his plan to fight climate change.
The plan made Pennsylvania — the nation's second-largest natural gas producer — the only major fossil fuel-producing state to undertake a carbon cap-and-trade program.
It has yet to take effect while the state's highest court considers a legal challenge that questions whether the carbon-pricing plan amounts to a tax, and is thus unconstitutional without legislative approval.
Backers of the regulation included environmental advocates as well as solar, wind and nuclear power producers who call it the biggest step ever taken in Pennsylvania to fight climate change.
It was opposed by Republicans, fossil fuel interests and the labor unions that work on pipelines, refineries and power plants.
State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton/Lehigh, said she fully supported the final budget product.
“Today I proudly voted for a budget that keeps Pennsylvania moving forward," she said in a prepared statement. "There are no tax increases, it protects the Rainy Day Fund, and it invests in the pillars of a strong economy, quality education, and affordable energy.”
Under the $50.1 billion budget deal, new authorized spending would rise by about $2.4 billion, or 5%, including some cash going onto last year's books.
Practically all of the overall spending increase would go toward Medicaid and public schools.
Billions in surplus cash will be required for the plan to balance, the second straight year that Pennsylvania is running a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
The agreement also includes the state’s first refundable earned income tax credit, which reduces or wipes out the state income tax for people who make less than a certain amount of money. It’s something most other states have on their books. Pennsylvania’s plan is projected to cost roughly $200 million a year.
LehighValleyNews.com reporter Tom Shortell contributed to this report.