On Thursday, Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39) and state Sens. Joe Pittman (R-41), Senate Majority leader, and Scott Martin (R-13) Senate Appropriations Committee, announced the Senate had passed two bills that will further finalize the state’s budget.
The senators said two bills that will implement parts of the state’s 2023-2024 budget to fund schools, hospitals, EMS providers, higher education, libraries and more were advanced. They added that there was no reason to keep Pennsylvanians waiting on the budget any longer.
“The Senate has done their best to give Gov. Shapiro and his counterparts in the House the necessary time to work through their party challenges, but the time has come that we must move beyond the broken deals and words and complete our work to ensure the fiscal solvency of our state,” Ward said. “With today’s action by the Senate, it is imperative that the House return quickly to session to complete the work of the people they represent even if to provide a counteroffer to what has been passed. Senate Republicans will continue to negotiate in good faith and in the best interest of Pennsylvanians.”
The Senate passed House Bill 1300 and Senate Bill 757, the legislators said.
House Bill 1300 reauthorizes assessments and payments to hospitals, increases reimbursement rates for EMS providers and reauthorizes judicial fees for court funding. Additionally, the bill directs funding to community colleges, state aid for libraries, special education, free breakfasts and non-public school safety initiatives. The bill will distribute $150 million for the state’s Clean Streams Fund and allocate $16 million in medical assistance incentive payments and changes how nursing home reimbursements are calculated.
Senate Bill 757 addresses other priorities included in the original budget deal Senate Republicans negotiated with Gov. Josh Shapiro, the legislators said. That bill includes the creation of the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) program that would allow families to use state funding at private schools if their public schools are failing. Additionally, the bill provides $150 million in new funding for the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit that expand educational opportunities.
“Today the Senate has written another chapter in the budget story – one which will help all communities throughout our commonwealth,” Pittman said. “While this implementation legislation does not fully finalize the 2023-24 state budget, it takes a significant step to move Pennsylvania forward. It is time we talk about what we can do as a divided government and not what we can’t do. We must show that we can move forward with the most basic parameters that make our government function.”
The legislators said the bills will not be fully authorized until they are passed in the House of Representatives.