Jun. 28, 2016
HARRISBURG – On Tuesday, Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-Berks/Carbon/Schuylkill) voted against Senate Bill 1073, the state budget plan for fiscal year 2016-17. After the vote, Knowles made the following statement:
“I believe we are reversing a trend that has been set throughout the last five budget cycles. That trend was passing budgets that controlled spending and held the lines on tax increases.
“This budget includes a 4.8 percent increase in spending, which equates to $1.4 billion more than last year. Further, I believe this spending plan is unsustainable, as it relies on revenue related to modernizing the state’s liquor system, increased taxes on tobacco, and gaming expansion. These are all non-recurring revenues for recurring expenses.
“The reality is, we cannot spend money we do not have. Additionally, we haven’t seen all the details related to this proposal, and we shouldn’t be voting on the spending plan before we vote on the revenues.”
For more information about this budget plan, or any other legislative topic, contact Knowles’ district office in Tamaqua at 570-668-1240, or in Hamburg at 610-562-3411. Information can also be found online at
RepKnowles.com or
Facebook.com/RepKnowles.
Representative Jerry Knowles
124th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
kcorbin@pahousegop.com
RepKnowles.com /
Facebook.com/RepKnowles