December 8, 2015

House Republicans Pass Their Budget Setting Up Showdown With Other 3 Caucuses, Gov. Wolf

By a largely party-line vote of 115 to 86, House Republicans passed House Bill 1460 (Adolph-R- Delaware), their version of a General Fund budget setting up a showdown with the other three legislative caucuses and Gov. Wolf.
PA Legislative Services: Senate Appropriations Committee just set an off the floor meeting for today on House Republican budget bill-- HB 1460.
The $30.2 billion plan trims the framework increase in education from $350 million to $150 million, including $215 million less for basic education, $25 million less for pre-K programs, $5 million less for Head Start, $20 million less for special education.
Republicans would pay for their budget by authorizing online gaming-- $120 million; $150 million in tobacco tax increase (taxing e-cigarettes and roll your own); $24 million in one-time online gaming license fees; legalizing slot machines at off-track betting parlors and airports; and for the first time tax all state lottery winnings.  
New money totals $309 million in all.  The House has not yet passed the bills to generate this revenue.
Click Here for a copy of the House Republican budget spreadsheet for House Bill 1460.
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Liquor Control Board Releases 2014-15 Annual Report, Retail Year In Review

The Annual Report, now in its third year, provides detailed information about each area of the PLCB's operations including store operations, licensing, marketing and merchandising, finance, supply chain, information technology, alcohol education and personnel.
The document is filled with statistics and descriptions intended to shed light on how the agency works, where the money it generates goes and the unique challenges the agency faces.
Some of the highlights of the Annual Report include:
— A one-page summary showing where the PLCB's money goes and how proceeds are distributed
— A five-year financial summary of store operations, including personnel costs and revenue
— A breakout of the top 10 product categories and individual products, based on annual sales statewide
— A breakdown of the 66,833 license and permit applications processed and 6,919 investigations completed, as well as a breakout of all retail licenses by county
— A summary of Bureau of Alcohol Education grants and efforts to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking
The Retail Year in Review is a detailed analysis of wine and spirits sales at Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores in Pennsylvania. It showcases sales by product category, individual products, counties, stores and sales periods.
Tracking consumer tastes across Pennsylvania and beverage alcohol industry trends enables the PLCB to analyze and improve its selection of quality products at competitive prices in more than 600 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores across the state.
The 2014-15 Retail Year in Review includes the following findings:
— Just five of Pennsylvania's 67 counties account for almost half – 48 percent – of the state's total wine and spirits sales.
— The vodka product category leads sales statewide, representing 13.17 percent of total sales for the year.
— December 2014 and November 2014 were the highest sales months of the retail year, with 12.69 percent and 9.08 percent of annual sales, respectively.
— Fireball Cinnamon Whisky 750 mL topped the list of products for units sold last retail year, while Jack Daniel's Old Number 7 Tennessee Whiskey 750 mL achieved the highest dollar sales among individual products.
— Fulton and Juniata counties showed the highest sales increases over the prior year, with 11.34 percent and 9.12 percent growth, respectively.
Copies of the 2014-15 Annual Report and Retail Year In Review are available online.
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December 7, 2015

Special Senate Committee Issues Kane Removal Procedural Resolution

The Special Committee on Senate Address introduced Senate Resolution 256 (Gordner-R- Columbia) containing procedures for considering the removal of indicted Attorney General Kane.  The resolution calls for a Senate hearing on January 12. The resolution was referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
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House Republicans Report Out Budget Bill Different Than Senate Version

By a party-line vote of 22 to 15, House Republicans amended and reported out House Bill 1460 (Adolph-R- Delaware) which was very different than the budget framework agreed-to by Senate Republicans, Gov. Wolf and House Republican leadership, but it was like House Bill 1192 (Adolph-R-Delaware) Gov. Wolf vetoed June 30.
Click Here for a copy of the amendment. Click Here for a copy of the House Republican budget spreadsheet for House Bill 1460.
Less than an hour before, the Senate passed a bipartisan budget bill by a vote of 43 to 7 that Gov. Wolf will sign into law.
The $30.2 billion plan trims the framework increase in education from $350 million to $150 million, including $215 million less for basic education, $25 million less for pre-K programs, $5 million less for Head Start, $20 million less for special education.
Republicans would pay for their budget by authorizing online gaming-- $120 million; $150 million in tobacco tax increase (taxing e-cigarettes and roll your own); $24 million in one-time online gaming license fees; legalizing slot machines at off-track betting parlors and airports; and for the first time tax all state lottery winnings.  New money totals $309 million in all.
Appropriations Committee Majority Chair Bill Adolph (R-Delaware) said this budget represents the art of the possible.
Rep. Adolph said the full House will vote on their version of the budget Tuesday.
NewsClips:
Senate OKs Bipartisan Budget, House Fate Unsure
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Senate Moves Bipartisan Budget, Pension Reform Bills To House To Uncertain Future

The Senate has passed a bipartisan General Fund Budget bill-- Senate Bill 1073 (Browne-R- Lehigh) by a vote of 43 to 7 and the Senate is now debating and passed a pension reform bill-- Senate Bill 1082 (Browne-R-Lehigh) by a vote of 38 to 12 that Gov. Wolf will sign, but which face a very uncertain future in the House.
The $30.8 billion General Fund budget includes $600 million in new revenue to help fund $350 million in new education spending.  The Senate is still working on specific options to fund the $600 million to balance the budget.
They are still looking at eliminating Sales Tax exemptions as the main funding source, but they have not said which ones.
Conservative House Republicans have scheduled a House Appropriations Committee meeting for today (Monday) off the floor to consider their budget vehicle-- House Bill 1460 (Adolph-R-Delaware) after the House convenes at 1:00.
Many House Republicans want to pass a new barebones $30.3 billion budget without tax increases.
Click Here for a Senate Republican staff budget spreadsheet for Senate Bill 1073. Click Here for a copy of the House Democratic budget spreadsheet on Senate Bill 1037 budget bill.
Senate Republicans
Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre) said the bipartisan General Fund budget bill approved Monday includes cost-cutting reform and historic funding for education without the need for the massive tax increases originally proposed by Gov. Wolf.
The $30.8 billion plan is approximately $1.15 billion less than the Governor’s original budget request.
The plan does not include the governor’s proposed massive tax increases. The bulk of funding increases in the budget are dedicated to education. The plan increases Basic Education funding by $350 million, early childhood education by $60 million, Special Education by $50 million and higher education by $82 million.
The budget package includes landmark reform of public pensions – the number-one cause of property tax increases. The reform requires new state workers and new school employees to enroll in a combination of a traditional pension and a 401(k)-type benefit as used in the private sector.
As part of the budget package, the Senate also will take the first step in getting the Commonwealth out of the liquor business, providing for the private sale of wine at restaurants and grocery stores, as well as many other changes that will result in increased customer convenience.
“Senate Republicans have worked for the past 10 months to develop a fiscally responsible budget that avoids the massive tax increases that were the lynchpin of Governor Wolf’s original budget proposal” Sen. Corman said. “While the agreement is not perfect, it represents a plausible solution to a crisis that has threatened core services of government.  These landmark achievements come with a price, but the cost is significantly less than the governor’s original request in March.”
Other highlights of the plan include:
-- $1.5 million in new funding for a new pilot program to address the heroin epidemic,
an additional $2.8 million to combat the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza,
-- $3.4 million in new funding for the State Food Purchase Program,
-- $10 million to increase home- and community-based services for 1,075 individuals with intellectual disabilities, and
-- New funding for remediating abandoned coal mining sites, hospital assessments, EMS providers and attendant care programs.
Senate Democrats Comment
“This was a grueling, troubling and very difficult budget but it is time to bring closure,” said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny). “The citizens of Pennsylvania, our schools, service providers and taxpayers need relief and fiscal stability now.
“Our main focus was on helping schools, repairing the safety net, promoting job creation and ensuring fiscal responsibility and that’s why it has taken so long to find common ground,” Sen. Costa said. “The plan provides a more than $460 million boost for schools and it wipes away a $1.3 billion structural deficit.”
“Schools will be helped and we’ve started the process of restoring crucial human service program dollars that were slashed over the last four years,” said Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia), Minority Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The budget includes key Senate Democrat priorities and proposals with the governor’s initiatives intertwined.”
Sen. Hughes said the agreement includes more than 70 percent of the governor’s original request for education, 100 percent of his human service ask, 70 percent of the community and economic request, and puts Pennsylvania on the path to fully restore – within three years – all of the funds cut from safety net programs by the Corbett administration.
“Given the recent budget history and the serious difficulties that have been imposed on Pennsylvania citizens as a result of deep cuts in education, human services and job creation it is clear that we had to change course and make investments,” Sen. Hughes said.
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Updated: Senate Moves Ahead With Agreed-To Budget, Pension Reform Bills
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