Jun. 27, 2015
HARRISBURG – State Reps. Dan Moul (R-Adams) and Will Tallman (R-Adams/Cumberland) today joined the majority of their House colleagues in advancing a spending plan for fiscal year 2015-16.
House Bill 1192, the primary piece of budget legislation, passed 112-77 and may now be taken up by the state Senate.
The budget proposal would spend $30.18 billion and features no tax increases or new taxes, while again increasing basic education funding for Pennsylvania school districts. Moul and Tallman issued the following statement after passage of House Bill 1192:
“This is an easy budget proposal to support because it treats taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars with the respect and good stewardship they demand and deserve. It does so while continuing to support education at record levels and funding essential services without the need for record tax increases.
“Schools in the 91st and 193rd legislative districts continue to receive increases in basic education funding, just has the ‘hold harmless’ clause in state government requires. Legislation is currently being crafted that will make changes to the basic education funding formula and eventually address the shortfall southcentral Pennsylvania schools have had to endure for far too long.
“House Bill 1192 also increases funding for higher education and designates more than $11 million combined for student access to PHEAA (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency) and institutional assistance grants.
“Agriculture is big business in our districts, and we applaud $23 million in new funding (a more than 18 percent increase for the Department of Agriculture) for Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry. We’re both aware of the threat posed by avian flu and appreciate the priority placed on agriculture research to address poultry farmers’ concerns.
“We also appreciate the focus placed on health and human services by House Bill 1192. Expansion of insurance programs will add to the rolls more than 4,200 additional senior citizens, more than 2,000 individuals with physical disabilities and more than 15,000 children.
“The budget proposed under House Bill 1192 spends responsibly while supporting the core functions of government. It funds public education at record levels, especially when combined with pension reform legislation that will be voted in the next few days.
“We look forward to our Senate colleagues taking up the legislation starting Sunday and delivering it to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk on time so as to avoid a government shutdown.”
Representative Dan Moul
91st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717.260.6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
RepMoul.com
Representative Will Tallman
193rd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
slittle@pahousegop.com
RepWillTallman.com /
Facebook.com/RepTallman