By Rep. Duane D. Milne, Ph.D. (R-Chester)

The new $28 billion state budget has recently passed and been signed into law.  Like any budget, there are some wise provisions in it, but also matters of some apprehension.  Chief among my concerns is the gamble to partially pay for this budget based on a roll of dice that nearly a billion dollars in federal funds might be coming to Pennsylvania.  A Three-Card-Monte approach to budgeting hardly represents a best-practices approach to fiscal management.

The crap shot in this budget is that approximately $850 million in new stimulus-style budget dollars from the federal government will land on Pennsylvania’s number in the roulette game of Washington budgeting.  The targeted purpose of the funds would be to subsidize Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance program.  To actually receive the payout, though, Congress must first approve that funding. 

The house odds here run against Pennsylvania.  Several times already, Congress has declined to to act to fund this program, largely so as not to add to the national budget deficit.  So, there is little indication that this kind of credit will be extended to Pennsylvania.

If this budget hand does not ultimately yield “blackjack,” or something very close to “21,” a nearly billion dollar hole will be left in the budget, and this empty pot will have to be replenished somehow, because the Pennsylvania Constitution requires the state to maintain balanced budgets.

This requirement distinguishes states from the federal government where a credit card mentality is too often the rule of thumb in dealing with the national debt.

The “chips” that will be drawn to fill in this hole will have to be taken from policy areas to which they already have been committed, with education quite likely at the head of that line.  This “spin” will only hurt local school districts, taxpayers and teachers.  Most crucially, this will hurt those who are not even playing in the pits of Harrisburg: the students.

It would be one kind of promotion to offer this package deal for programs in state government that are more of an optional nature, such as black-fly spraying, or projects that could be deferred altogether until the economy improves.  However, it is quite another to try to pay for the required bus trip with quarters that might or might not ever materialize, as was the case at the time the budget was debated and voted upon.

This strategy is unfair to potentially affected stakeholders, for education as well as a host of other areas.  Local entities of all sorts need surety about their appropriations from the state budget in order to plan responsibly for themselves.  For example, local school districts, already hard at work planning budgets for next year in this difficult fiscal climate, need certainty that these funds will be available.  It literally could make the difference as to whether sufficient funding exists to retain particular programs or keep specific positions.

Because of this unappetizing pairing of uncertain federal dollars and the education of Pennsylvania’s youth, the odds favor that state government will be forced to re-open the budget books at some point and try to repair the damage, as I believe this play ultimately yields a losing hand when the cards are laid upon the table.

Going forward, education and certain other core functions of state government should be doled out their chips first, and then, and only then, more discretionary areas receive something if any quarters remain in the bucket.  Even if we don’t end up having to fold this year, this is not a draw worth repeating.  Continually basing state education policy on hoped for federal dollars – especially given the realistically limited payouts available at the national level in the future because of the enormous national debt – is a gamble...and I don’t like the odds.

Rep. Duane D. Milne, Ph,D.

167th District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

(717) 787-8579

Contact:  Helen Hammerschmidt

(610) 251-1070

Member Site:DuaneMilne.com

Caucus Site:  PAHouseGOP.com