Dear Neighbor,
I have been at the State Capitol every week for the last seven weeks as we work to pass a budget. We took a big step forward last night, when the State House passed a budget bill – HB 1330 - and sent it to the State Senate.
While we’ve been in Harrisburg every single week, Senate leadership hasn’t called their members to the Capitol since June. While the budget that we passed last night has not yet been agreed to by the Senate, the Senate quickly scheduled new session days for tomorrow and Thursday a few hours after our vote. I am hoping this is a positive sign that we may see a final budget soon.
With divided government in Harrisburg, compromise is essential to getting anything done. The budget we passed cut $1 billion from Governor Shapiro’s original budget proposal and it passed the State House with bipartisan support.
Despite the cuts, HB 1330 invests in the things that matter most, including a $526 million increase in the Ready-to-Learn Block Grant for the second installment of adequacy and tax equity payments. It includes a $1.1 billion increase for the Medical Assistance Managed Care program and an $8 million increase for the State Food Purchase Program to try to blunt some of the worst impacts to our vulnerable neighbors that will come from Federal budget cuts.
Every year, I take my son to the Capitol during budget session because seeing the process in person is the best civics lesson I can think of. He was with me at the Capitol when HB 1330 passed in the chamber and is also hoping the final budget will be wrapped up soon.
I’ll continue to keep you updated on the budget process through these weekly e-newsletters. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement!
During budget session, we’ve been busy moving other bills that matter to Pennsylvania. Here are a few key bills that passed the PA House last week:
HB 1358 – Protecting Hospitality Workers: Ensures stronger protections for Pennsylvania’s hospitality workers from harassment, assault and violence on the job.
HB 1697 – Fighting Fraud, Protecting Your Tax Dollars: Provides law enforcement with tools to not only hold scammers accountable but also recover and return stolen taxpayer funds to the public.
HB 1299 – Click to Cancel for Subscription Services: Requires companies to clearly notify consumers before auto-renewals, be transparent about renewal terms, and allow cancellations to be done easily online.
HB 129 – Say No to Negative Option Billing: Prevents companies from automatically enrolling customers in paid subscriptions after a free trial, unless the consumer opts in, eliminating confusing and deceptive billing practices.