HARRISBURG – The Senate approved a $45.2 billion General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23 that ensures we can meet the needs of Pennsylvanians today without creating multi-billion-dollar budget deficits in the future, according to Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-46), who voted for the measure.
The budget agreement does not include any broad-based tax increases and is structured in a way to minimize the risk of tax increases in the years ahead. Additionally, it cuts the Corporate Net Income (CNI) tax rate from 9.99% to 8.99% and creates a phased reduction to 4.99% by 2031, efforts designed to attract employers and residents to Pennsylvania.
“This budget rightly prioritizes initiatives to benefit Pennsylvania’s workers, who were hurt by Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic closures and still have not recovered,” Bartolotta said. “From being displaced from their industries to struggling to find affordable child care, people need help. This funding will better position them for long-term success and financial independence.”
To begin to address the “child care cliff,” which occurs when working individuals and families lose access to benefits due to increases in income, the budget includes an additional $25 million for child care services. This will benefit families by lessening the burden of transition to self-sufficiency.
“As chair of the Labor and Industry Committee, I was also pleased to see important investments to boost our workforce,” added Bartolotta. “This budget includes more funding dedicated to apprenticeship training to continue a proven job training model that allows individuals to earn while they learn on a pathway to family-sustaining careers. It invests more in New Choices/ New Options, a program designed to help individuals re-enter the workforce.”
Increased funding is also dedicated in this year’s budget to ensure our schools are safe and secure: $100 million is appropriated for the Ready to Learn Block Grant program to address school-based mental health; and $100 million in funding is directed to a new General Fund appropriation for School Safety and Security to address physical safety and security at schools.
The budget also includes a mechanism to utilize American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to pay off any outstanding debt in the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, shielding employers from a potential tax increase.
Senate Bill 1100 now goes to the governor’s desk for enactment into law.
CONTACT: Katrina Hanna, 717-787-1463