HARRISBURG – The PA House and Senate are back in session today in Harrisburg as a budget deal appears to be on the horizon which could end PA’s four month budget impasse. The state budget is supposed to be completed and go into effect on July 1st. Reports are that a tentative agreement has been reached on a $50.09 billion budget, which is a 4.7% increase from last year’s budget. In February, Gov. Josh Shapiro had originally proposed a $51.5 billion spending plan while House Democrats proposed a $50.3 billion budget. Republicans had offered a $47.9 billion proposal. The latest budget proposal does not dip into the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which currently has a balance of $7.5 billion and does not add new revenue sources. Gov. Josh Shapiro was expected to sign key budget bills by today’s end. To seal a deal with Republicans, Democrats are abandoning an effort to force power plant owners pay for their greenhouse gas emissions by becoming part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or RGGI. The budget plan is expected to deliver substantial new sums to public schools and an earned income tax credit for lower earners, as Democrats sought.
