York County House Republicans Issue Statement on Opposition To Budget Bill

6/28/2016

HARRISBURG – The state House today advanced Senate Bill 1073, the key piece in the package of legislation that forms the 2016-17 state budget. If approved by the state Senate, the bill will require $31.5 billion in spending, a more than $1.4 billion increase over the 2015-16 fiscal year.

While the bill passed with bipartisan support, it also had opponents on both sides of the aisle. The York County House Republican delegation, state Reps. Keith Gillespie (R-Hellam), Seth Grove (R-Dover), Kate Klunk (R-Hanover), Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York Township), Mike Regan (R-Dillsburg) and Stan Saylor (R-Red Lion), opposed the spending plan and issued this statement following the vote:

“As supporters of responsible spending and smaller government, we cannot endorse a plan to increase spending by 4.5 percent while too many of our constituents continue to struggle to make ends meet. It’s hard to cast a vote in favor of growing the size of government while York County homeowners wait for action on substantial property tax legislation (House Bill 504) that the House passed to the Senate more than a year ago.

“Senate Bill 1073 relies heavily on an increased tobacco tax. With cigarette smoking at an all-time low and dropping, it’s not unreasonable to be concerned with how reliable a revenue stream such a tax increase will be. Additionally, cigarette sales in Philadelphia are already $2 per pack higher than the rest of state. An additional $1 per pack will make that region of the state ripe for illicit black market sales, which have proven to fund violent gangs and international terrorist organizations.

“Taxpayers do not deserve another lengthy budget standoff. They also do not deserve to see government spending increase at an unsustainable rate. You can’t spend what you don’t have, which is why we voted as we did.”



York County House Republican Delegation
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact:  Scott Little
slittle@pahousegop.com