Here’s my first pass. Feel free to point out important stuff I missed in the comments.
The Bad News:
- Turning down $43 billion in federal Medicaid money, denying insurance to 700,000 PA residents
- Transportation Funding Plan Of Wusses – comes up a billion dollars short of panel recommendations, ignores multiple decent recommendations
- Flat liquid fuels tax cut over 2 years, gives away $179 million in revenue. WTF is a tax cut doing in a revenue plan?
- No new local transportation revenue option like value capture or payroll tax. County match requirement raised to 20% from 3% for capital, up to 20% from 15% for operating
- $85m for Turnpike “expansion” projects – likely boondoggles
- $80m total for bike/ped, ports, airports and rail
- Level-funding higher education
- Reduces state contribution to pensions, increases pension debt
- No mention of municipal pension reform
- 10-year 30% reduction in corporate net income tax from 9.99% to 6.99%, off-set by nothing
- Phases out the Capital Stock and Franchise tax, off-set by nothing
- Does nothing to cut $2.9 billion annual spending on fossil fuel subsidies
- Does nothing to cut tax expenditures
The Less-Bad News:
- Oil company franchise tax uncapped over 5 years, will raise $1.8 billion
- Only $250 million for transit, despite billions required for state-of-good-repair. This is less bad because it could’ve been lower or totally cleaved from the regular transportation budget like some rural GOoPers wanted
- $90 million in Basic Education Funding – increase of 1.7% over last year, for total of $5.5 billion
- $348 million for early childhood education programs
- Future state employees get 401(a) defined contribution plan, forced to save 6.25% of salary
- Pointlessly kludgey alcohol reform
- $1 billion 4-year block grant to school districts contingent on alcohol reform. Seeing a lot of people complaining about this because the grant ends. Why? Take the money and then top up Basic Education. We can do both!
- Maintains funding for Green Future Fund open space preservation program
This guy’s gotta go! This budget is an absolute disgrace. Playing petty politics by turning down $43 billion in federal Medicaid money? Corbett, you’re truly a man of the people. You couldn’t pay me enough to vote for your re-election!