HARRISBURG (KYW Newsradio) — Weeks of budget hearings in Harrisburg come to a close Thursday as Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget secretary takes the hot seat.
Republicans in both chambers expressed concerns over a $3 billion deficit in Governor Shapiro’s $51.5 billion budget proposal, pointing out it includes revenue from regulated skill games and adult-use marijuana, even though both issues face steep climbs in the legislature.
Budget Secretary Uri Monson urged quick action on both.
“It's happening already, It's here,” he said. “So we have a choice of either to continue to kind of ignore it, let it go on, or we can regulate it, have some controls over it, gain some revenues.”
Democratic Senator Patty Kim, however, praised the proposal.
“It grows our economy and it builds our workforce,” she said. “It continues public safety investments that are making our communities safer. It moves the Commonwealth forward.”
Democrats asked what possible funding changes in Harrisburg could mean for Pennsylvania going forward. Monson testified he doesn’t want to speculate on specifics as no one can predict what will happen.
“Basically since [President] Lyndon Johnson, we have, I think the best way to describe it, is a compact between the federal government and the state government, of certain things that will be funded that we've all built,” he said. “And this is not just us. This is every state in the union.”
Governor Shapiro’s proposal is an increase of over seven percent over the current budget. Monson says this is the start of the process, now the State House, the Senate, and the governor need to work out the final plan.