Senate advances bill aiming to reduce state’s debt burden

The state Senate recently advanced a bill, authored by Rep. John Lawrence (R-Chester/Lancaster), that aims to reduce Pennsylvania’s debt burden.

The bill now heads to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk and Lawrence and Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) have urged the governor to sign the measure into law.

“The Senate’s passage of House Bill 83 puts Harrisburg one step closer to becoming true fiscal stewards of Pennsylvania citizens’ hard-earned money,” Turzai said. “While the economy is improving for Pennsylvanians, we must continue to reign in government debt. This is an important bill to help protect taxpayer dollars, and Gov. Wolf should sign it.”

The bill, House Bill 83, would require the administration to repay new capital debt using a level principal payment approach, which reduces the amount spent on interest. An analysis from House Appropriations Committee staff estimates that this reform would decrease outstanding general obligation debt by $1 billion over 20 years.

“We applaud the Senate for passing House Bill 83, which provides commonsense reform that saves taxpayers significantly over the life of state-issued bonds,” Lawrence said. “We urge the governor to sign it.”

From 2008 through 2017, outstanding general obligation debt increased by $3.832 billion, or nearly 47 percent. Over the same period, debt service paid out of the General Fund increased from $1 billion to $1.407 billion, an increase of almost 47 percent. Per capita debt rose by $85, or 7.8 percent, in the one-year period from 2016 to 2017. Per capita debt at the end of fiscal year 2017 was $1,172.