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For Immediate Release
October 6, 2009
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White: Senate Passes Budget Package to Reduce Spending, Avoid
Income Tax Hike
Harrisburg -- The Senate today approved and sent to the House of
Representatives a state budget package that reduces state spending and maintains
state services and programs without a broad-based tax increase, said Sen. Mary
Jo White (R-21), who supported the measure.
Senate Bill 1085 sets General Fund spending at $27.85 billion –
more than $1 billion less than the Governor’s initial budget request and $432
million less than the approved 2008-09 budget total of $28.267 billion. The
Senate bill increases basic education funding by $300 million and restores
support for human services programs.
"Enactment of a state budget is long overdue, and this package
meets the goals of getting funding to local community providers caught in the
middle of the impasse, and shielding taxpayers from irresponsible spending and
broad-based tax hikes," said White.
In addition to averting an increase in the Personal Income Tax,
the budget plan does not include a proposed tax on the extraction of natural
gas. Instead, the Commonwealth would generate $240 million in revenue over two
years from leasing restricted portions of state forests for environmentally
responsible natural gas drilling.
"It’s important that the state not burden this fledging industry
before it even gets off the ground and begins generating energy and revenue,"
said White, who chairs the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.
"We have a clean, abundant energy resource right under our feet, and we ought to
use it to increase energy independence and help keep taxes down."
CONTACT:
Pat Henderson
(717) 787-9684
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