HARRISBURG – On Friday, Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, warned of the negative effects of Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of the state’s fiscal code will have within the region.
Scarnati explained that the state’s bipartisan fiscal code was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives in conjunction with the general appropriation budget act. The fiscal code works with the budget by serving as the map for spending state funds.
“The fiscal code is an integral part of the state budget and necessary for accurate disbursement of budgetary funds,” Scarnati said. “After nine months of failing to sign a complete budget — we are once again seeing the Governor play games with Pennsylvanians’ hard-earned tax dollars.”
The state’s budget went into effect at midnight Sunday after the Governor chose not to veto or sign the bill. However, the Governor vetoed the state’s fiscal code, which serves as the instruction manual for how the money in the budget is to be distributed, according to Scarnati.
He said vetoing the fiscal code freezes $150 million in additional funds for schools that was provided in the budget, and the budget bill specifically outlines that the new money cannot be distributed without enacting the fiscal code. The fiscal code distributed the money according to the recommendations of the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission, which came up with the agreed-to formula, according to Scarnati.
Scarnati said the Governor’s veto could have a big impact specifically on rural educational opportunities by preventing the Rural Regional Community College, Butler County Community College — Brockway Campus and the Educational Consortium of the Upper Alleghenies from receiving their state funding.
In addition, Scarnati said the Governor’s veto cuts $289 million that was to address the state’s failure to provide promised reimbursements for school construction and renovations projects — commonly referred to as PLANCON (Planning and Construction Workbook). Last week, the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Administrators outlined the importance of receiving the PLANCON money.
“Our schools and many vital programs across our state deserve to have their funding,” Senator Scarnati stated. “It is disingenuous for Gov. Wolf to continuously claim that he is fighting for more money for education, when in reality he is preventing increased funding passed by the Senate and House of Representatives from reaching the school districts that so desperately need it.
“As we move forward, I am hopeful that the Governor will be willing to work with us to address the problems created by his veto,” he said.
