Senator Camera Bartolotta (R- Beaver/Greene/Washington), other lawmakers and good government advocates participated in a news conference in support of the Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA) on Monday in the Capitol Building in Harrisburg.
The bill would amend the state constitution to limit state government spending growth to an amount calculated using a formula that combines the rate of population growth in the state and the rate of inflation. Overriding the limit would require a supermajority of the General Assembly, two-thirds of all House and Senate members.
Under the legislation, revenues collected above the spending cap would first be used to build up the state’s rainy day fund, which currently contains approximately $23 million, enough to run the state government for approximately six hours. Amounts exceeding a reasonable rainy day fund would be returned to families and businesses in the form of lower taxes.
Bartolotta introduced the bill in January.
“By limiting government growth, the TPA keeps money in the hands of job creators and employees who know best how to spend it,” Bartolotta said in an op-ed. “This would help ensure Pennsylvania stays on the path of prosperity, giving our children and grandchildren opportunities here at home in Southwestern PA.”
In addition to Bartolotta, Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon/Dauphin/York), Rep. Ryan Warner (R-Fayette/Westmoreland County), the Commonwealth Foundation, the National Federation of Independent Business, the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association and several other lawmakers and groups participated in the event.
“Small businesses are often impacted by higher taxes brought about by out-of-control government spending that hinder economic growth,” NFIB said in a press release. “The legislature has routinely increased state government spending above the rate of economic growth in Pennsylvania. Limiting that would prevent ever-expanding state government growth.”