en en en en fr en en en en it en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en sv en en en it en en en en it en en en en it en en en en it en en en en it en en en en it en en en de it en en en ms en en en en en it en en en en es en es en en en en en en en en en en lv en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en fi ca en es es en en zh cv en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en
Gov. Tom Wolf’s speech is expected to not only outline his policy requests but also look back at his administration’s turn at the helm of government.
HARRISBURG — This month, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf will deliver his eighth and final budget address to a joint session of the legislature. Such speeches are usually a time for governors to lay out their vision for the future, and provide a wish list of all the policies and changes they want lawmakers to act on.
The speech will provide the roadmap for weeks of budget hearings and negotiations between the term-limited governor and the Republican-controlled legislature. A signed budget must be in place by July 1, the start of the fiscal year. This time around, talks between the two sides will be buoyed by the fact that the state is flush with cash reserves — if only temporarily.
Here are six things to know before the governor delivers his budget address on Feb. 8. This year, it is scheduled to resume being an in-person event, although legislative staff said they will likely cut down on the number of people (including aides and visitors) who are allowed to attend.
Legacy will be as prominent as finances
This is Wolf’s chance to sell the public on his tenure in office. Expect to hear about his administration’s focus on increasing funding for public education, expanding Medicaid access, ushering in changes to voting policy, and responding to COVID-19.
Also expect the GOP to rebut this narrative by countering that the Wolf administration overstepped its boundaries and attempted to usurp the powers of the legislature in imposing coronavirus restrictions.
The state’s finances are OK — for now
A decade ago, the legislature created the nonpartisan Independent Fiscal Office and tasked it with fairly and accurately assessing the state’s financial health.
In a report on the state’s budget outlook, the IFO projected a “substantial surplus” in this fiscal year’s budget — “but operating deficits for future years.”
That means negotiations between Wolf and the legislature for the fiscal year that begins in July could be calmer, but the next administration can expect a financial headache. By the 2023-24 fiscal year, Pennsylvania could be staring at a nearly $2 billion deficit, according to the latest IFO report.
Federal relief dollars are a curse and a blessing
Federal money from the pandemic relief bill President Joe Biden signed last March is keeping the state’s finances afloat, and Republicans hope to use some $5 billion in cash reserves to keep the state’s finances balanced through the 2023-24 fiscal year.
That $5 billion includes roughly $2.4 billion in federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act that is leftover in a restricted account, and another $2.6 billion in state taxpayer dollars that was put into the budget reserve, nicknamed the rainy day fund.
Democrats, however, have called for spending the money now on what they see as more pressing matters for the state to address, setting the stage for potential clashes with GOP lawmakers who want to continue squirreling some of the money away to assuage the looming deficits in later years.
Education funding remains a Wolf fixture
Wolf has proposed funding increases for public schools every year of his tenure. The GOP-controlled legislature has largely obliged, albeit not to the extent that the governor has sought.
The current fiscal year’s nearly $40 billion budget, for instance, includes a $400 million boost in education funding, including $200 million more for public schools and another $100 million to help struggling school districts.
But Wolf has been insistent that all education dollars — not just the amount in annual increases — should be funneled through the state’s fair funding formula to help poor and underfunded schools in urban and rural districts. If implemented, it would dramatically change the public education funding landscape.
Yet he doesn’t have complete buy-in from GOP lawmakers, and it is unlikely an expansion of the formula will be implemented in an election year, when public officials often shy away from making radical changes.
However, a lawsuit now in a state appellate court — one alleging that the state has historically underfunded poor and lower-income schools districts — could eventually force the legislature’s hand. But that suit could play out in the courts for months, if not years.
The pandemic looms large
Wolf’s legacy will in large part be judged by his handling of the pandemic. Expect the Democratic governor to focus on his administration’s investments in health care — including an additional $225 million being fast-tracked for hospitals struggling with staffing shortages — rather than the myriad fights he had with legislative Republicans over his administration’s restrictions in the first year of the pandemic.
Minimum wage hike, gas tax are still high on Wolf’s wish list
There are a handful of policy changes that the Democratic governor pushes nearly every year despite legislative inaction. They include measures to fight gun violence, proposals to raise the minimum wage above $7.25 an hour, and plans for taxing natural gas production. The governor will likely return to those themes in this year’s speech, but the political landscape does not appear promising for action on those fronts.
Wolf also might deliver a full-throated defense of his administration’s efforts to expand voting access in light of last week’s controversial appellate court ruling striking down the state’s mail voting law. The administration has appealed the decision to the state’s highest court, and Wolf has said the outcome will be pivotal to the strength of democracy in the commonwealth.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE… If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING...
We believe everyone in Pennsylvania should have access to trusted public-service and investigative journalism. That’s why we don’t have a paywall on our site, charge a subscription fee, or clutter our articles with ads that have nothing to do with our state.
Instead, we use the honor system.
Each of our stories costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars to produce. If you learned something today, do your part and join our effort to rebuild reliable, high-quality local journalism in Pennsylvania by making a tax-deductible contribution of any amount. We can’t do this work without you.
Support Spotlight PA »
I am a robot
Never Miss a Story
Sign up for PA Post and get a free daily email with top news from across PA, plus some fun, too.
You’re invited! Pennsylvania’s top election official answers your voting questions live
by Spotlight PA Staff
Photo Courtesy Chris Harter
Talk of a tax increase is driving a wedge between leaders of a growing Pa. township and its fire company
by Min Xian of Spotlight PA State College
Tom Gralish / Philadelphia Inquirer
A complete guide and amendment tracker for proposed changes to Pennsylvania’s Constitution
by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA
Leise Hook / For Spotlight PA
Pa. law protects workers who are approved for medical marijuana — but once they use it, it’s a different story.
by Ed Mahon of Spotlight PA
THE LATEST ON COVID-19
Dan Nott / For Spotlight PA
Pa. COVID updates: Your guide to finding resources on cases, vaccines, and tests
by Spotlight PA Staff
THOMAS HENGGE & STEVEN M. FALK / Philadelphia Inquirer
Pa. election 2022: Your complete guide to the candidates for governor
by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA, Ethan Edward Coston of Spotlight PA and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
More Stories from Spotlight PA
Blaine McCartney / The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP, JULY 29, 2018, FILE PHOTO
Skill games company woos Pa. lawmakers with trips to wild Wyoming rodeo
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
Kent M. Wilhelm / For Spotlight PA
Pennsylvania’s highest court could give cities the go-ahead to craft their own gun laws
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA
KIM WEIMER / BUCKS COUNTY COURIER TIMES
Draft bills and late-night emails reveal cozy ties between Pa. state lawmaker, casino lobbyists
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
Keith Srakocic / AP
What are skill games, and why are they at the center of a multimillion-dollar fight
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
TIM TAI / Philadelphia Inquirer
The public could gain easy access to info about how Pa. lawmakers spend taxpayer money on perks
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
Wolf asks GOP-led legislature to spend Pa.’s federal aid dollars as he pitches $1.8B boost for education
by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
TIM TAI / Philadelphia Inquirer
Pa. legislature’s redacted legal bills flout court ruling, leave taxpayers guessing
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Sam Janesch of The Caucus
CHARLES FOX / Philadelphia Inquirer
Pa. election 2022: There will be no constitutional amendments on the Nov. 8 ballot, but big ones are looming
by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
TOM GRALISH / Philadelphia Inquirer
Looming election jolts Harrisburg into action as Pa. lawmakers pass a flurry of bills, cash in on fundraisers
by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA
THOMAS HENGGE & STEVEN M. FALK / Philadelphia Inquirer Photographers
Elecciones Pa. 2022: Su guía completa de los candidatos a gobernador
by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA, Ethan Edward Coston of Spotlight PA and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
Spotlight PA relies on funding from foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
If you value this reporting, please give a gift today at spotlightpa.org/donate.
Special Projects & Investigations
This site is powered by Netlify
228 Walnut St., #11728
Could not load results. ${error.message}
Sign Up For Our Free Newsletters
Get every Spotlight PA story and
the best investigative journalism from across Pa.
PA Post (Daily): Top news every weekday morning, plus a daily puzzle.
The Investigator (Weekly): Best accountability journalism every Thursday, plus a weekly riddle.
PA Local (Weekly): A fresh look at the incredible people, places, and food of Pa. every Friday, plus events, guides, best-of, and more.