Governor Tom Wolf delivered a unique budget proposal Feb. 3. Rejecting the longtime practice of directly facing lawmakers in Harrisburg during this time of pandemic, he spoke directly to constituents through a web address.

Wolf’s plan is to infuse new resources in education while scaling back taxes on working families.

“What if we asked people about the barriers standing between them and the bright future they imagined when they decided to build a life here in the Commonwealth?” he asked. “Too many parents across the Commonwealth – in Westmoreland County, in Fulton County, in Tioga County, in North Philadelphia, and beyond – felt like the opportunities available to their kids would be determined less by their talent and more by their ZIP code. No matter how great a parent you are, if your local school system lacks the resources it needs to provide your kids with a quality education, that’s a barrier to giving them a better life.

“High-quality education is the ticket to greater opportunity for our children. Without it, how can we hope that our kids will lead better lives than we did? If it’s not accessible to everyone, how will our kids be able to build a better Pennsylvania than the one we leave them?”

Thus, Wolf is proposing a more than $1.3 billion investment in basic education funding through the Fair Funding Formula, and is including a $1.15 billion adjustment so that no school district is negatively affected. An additional $200 million investment in basic education funding is proposed to allow all districts to continue to invest in student achievement.

He said he also wishes to attract the most talented teachers by increasing the minimum teacher salary to $45,000 and instituting comprehensive charter school reform.

In support of working families, Wolf is proposing a tax decrease for those married with two children and earning less than $84,000 annually.

Details in a press release explain the special tax forgiveness credit will be expanded, and working class families will have their taxes reduced or eliminated completely. Overall, 67 percent of Pennsylvanians will either get a tax cut or see their taxes stay the same. The proposal increases the allowances for tax forgiveness to $15,000 for single filers, $30,000 for married filers, and a $10,000 allowance for each dependent. Filers with incomes at or below these thresholds will receive 100 percent tax forgiveness. The percentage of tax forgiveness declines by one percentage point for each $500 above the threshold for 100 percent forgiveness. For example, this means families with two children making less than $84,000 will receive a tax cut, while a family of four making $50,000 will have their taxes eliminated.

The proposal also includes quite a bit of news for businesses: A $145 million allotment in COVID relief funds for businesses hurt by the pandemic; instituting a $12 minimum wage with a path to $15; and a 25 percent tax decrease for all businesses while closing the so-called Delaware Loophole and shifting to mandatory combined reporting to tax corporations as a single entity.

Other highlights include ethics and election reform and legalizing recreational marijuana, while asking for renewed bi-partisan cooperation.

“I’m telling you it’s possible to pursue a legislative agenda for this commonwealth that’s good for families, good for businesses, good for the economy. And most of all I’m telling you I think your family’s future is important enough that we ought to have this argument right now instead of putting it off until next year and the year after that.”

Local response

The address elicited immediate responses from local representatives.

State Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh, said, “The governor’s proposal showed a dedication to helping get our commonwealth back on track. There is no doubt we have far to go with regard to helping people get back to work and ensuring the negative impacts of the COVID pandemic transition into part of our collective history as we move forward toward a recovery that prioritizes helping those hardest hit.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues so that we do all we can to emphasize and echo what the governor outlined today. With a critical eye, we have an opportunity to look at the last 10 months, identify areas that are in need of improvements, and come together as a bipartisan legislative body to put forth a path to recovery that enhances and supports those items contained in today’s budget proposal.”

State Senator Lisa Boscola was supportive, but less enthusiastic.

“I am a strong proponent of fully funding the Fair Funding Formula. For too long the residents of my district have been carrying the lion’s share of funding our public school district costs because our state funding system is broken. Unfortunately, I am not convinced the governor’s plan recognizes the challenges in my district. Raising PIT without real meaningful property tax relief is a non-starter for me. If you live in an area like mine where school district taxes have gone up year after year, where we pay for 80 percent of school district budgets with local property taxes, this plan is untenable without meaningful property tax relief.”

Boscola continued, “I do agree with other portions of the governor’s budget. We need to reform the way our charter schools are funded, especially our cyber charter schools. We need to help offset the costs of our state police with a fee for those communities that use them as their primary police force. Finally, the governor’s commitment to increase funding for successful economic development programs such as IRC and PREP, along with workforce development, are important investments for our economy.

“I understand that the governor’s budget is a proposal and starting point for his view. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the senate and with the administration to solve the problems facing Pennsylvania.”