HARRISBURG, June 29, 2011 – State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Delaware/Montgomery) announced the passage of H.B. 1485, the 2011-2012 budget vehicle, through the state Senate last night. Leach added that despite its passage, he voted “no” on the bill.
That budget, described by Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Sen. Vince Hughes (D-Philadelphia) as “a trick on Pennsylvania’s people”, cuts more than $900 million in basic education funding while providing more than $320 million in tax breaks for special interest groups.
“This budget is a disgrace; we are sitting on a huge amount of money in surplus revenues and punishing students and taxpayers by refusing to use it for much-needed services,” Leach said. “The fact that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are patting themselves on the back for passing a budget on time is shameful; it’s smarter, and ultimately better for Pennsylvanians to pass a responsible budget a few days late than ramming through a bad plan just for the sake of beating a deadline.”
Leach pointed out that the plan cuts more than $10 million from the Human Service Development Fund, eliminates charter school funding reimbursements, and takes more than $8 million in funding for emergency programs to keep homeowners in their homes.
he plan does not include a fee or tax on Marcellus Shale drilling, does not close corporate tax loopholes, ignores a $700 million surplus, and provides hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate tax breaks.
The budget bill passed the Senate by a vote of 30-20. It will now head to the House of Representatives for concurrence.
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