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Authors Posts by Jack Phillips

Jack Phillips

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Mr. Phillips is responsible to assist the association with health policy, which primarily includes member communication and advocacy with the Governor’s office, General Assembly, and state regulatory agencies. Mr. Phillips was most recently at the Pennsylvania Department of State as Director of Legislative Affairs.

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Today, RCPA received the following alert from one of our national associations. Please contact your Congressman.

We are re-sending this action alert to remind you to ask your U.S. Representative throughout today to oppose tax reform as written – we have both call and email information below.

Very late on Friday, the Senate passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which seeks to overhaul the tax code but has provisions that could affect IDD services. Today, Monday December 4, the bill is going back to the House for a final vote, since it is a different bill than the tax bill the House voted on, before going to the President for his signature so it becomes law. After the House votes on it there will be no more opportunities to stop the bill. While ANCOR does not have a position on tax reform, we have key positions on how tax reform may impact our services. Given these principles and the passage of the bill out of the Senate, we believe it is important to speak up about the importance of Medicaid to people with I/DD before the House votes on this legislation for the final time.

Please contact your U.S. Representative TODAY to say that you cannot support the legislation in its current form because:

  • The changes proposed to the charitable tax deduction reduce the ability of nonprofit disability service providers to fund important services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
  • As the only other federal support for Medicaid long term services and supports, the House passed legislation removing the medical expense deduction could put significant strain on the Medicaid program that serves people with I/DD.
  • The changes to the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) impact the ability of nonprofit providers and their associations to maintain limited but important revenues.
  • The changes to state and local taxes would have a negative impact on certain states that obtain significant funding from these taxes for services for people with I/DD.
  • The House legislation’s elimination of tax breaks on bond financing could significantly undermine the financing for affordable housing for people with I/DD.
  • The addition of $1.5 trillion to the national debt may be used to justify future cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security which are the main federal programs that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Click here to send an email directly to your U.S. Representative! Please do not put this off – a full House vote is expected by this evening.

Given the short turnaround time before the vote, we also highly encourage you to call your U.S. Representative. The Congressional Switchboard can help you identify your Members of Congress and will connect you directly to their office – dial it at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY). A short script you can use is: “I am a constituent who cares deeply about issues affecting people with disabilities. If you do not already oppose the tax reform bill coming for a vote today, please do so because it has provisions that would harm services for people with disabilities. Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.”

This position is in keeping with the Board-approved ANCOR tax reform principles that we adopted at the beginning of this debate.

ANCOR Tax Reform Principles

  1. Any process that includes changes to Medicaid should be accomplished through a process that affords sufficient opportunity for legislators, advocates, and constituents to review and provide feedback on the proposal and legislative language prior to passage.
  2. Individual or corporate tax cuts or expenditures must not be paid for by cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, or other mandatory or discretionary programs that promote independence, inclusion, and community living for people with disabilities.
  3. Tax reform should not decrease revenue to an extent that revenue is insufficient to continue to fund the programs and services and supports for people with disabilities at current levels or above.
  4. The charitable deduction should be maintained and improved for the non-profit sector which provides the majority of services and supports for people with disabilities.
  5. Unrelated business income tax should be held harmless to protect the vital role of nonprofits and associations in the disability services sector.

Thank you for your advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities. Should you have any questions or need more information, please contact Sarah Meek, Director of Legislative Affairs, or Jack Phillips, RCPA’s Director of Government Affairs.

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Today, we received the following alert from one of our national associations. Please contact both Senators Casey and Toomey.

ancor

The full Senate will vote very soon on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which has already passed out of the Finance Committee, in an attempt to overhaul the federal tax code. While ANCOR does not have a position on tax reform, we have key positions on how tax reform may impact our services. Given these principles and a Senate tax reform vote as soon as next week, we believe it is important to speak up about the importance of Medicaid to people with I/DD before the Senate votes on this legislation.

Please contact your Senators TODAY and tell them that you cannot support the legislation in its current form because:

  • The changes proposed to the charitable tax deduction reduce the ability of nonprofit disability service providers to fund important services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
  • As the only other federal support for Medicaid long term services and supports, the House passed legislation removing the medical expense deduction could put significant strain on the Medicaid program that serves people with I/DD.
  • The changes to the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) impact the ability of nonprofit providers and their associations to maintain limited but important revenues.
  • The changes to state and local taxes would have a negative impact on certain states that obtain significant funding from these taxes for services for people with I/DD.
  • The House legislation’s elimination of tax breaks on bond financing could significantly undermine the financing for affordable housing for people with I/DD.
  • The addition of $1.5 trillion to the national debt may be used to justify future cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security which are the main federal programs that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Click here to send an email directly to your Senators! Please do not put this off — a full Senate vote could happen soon after the Thanksgiving holiday.

This position is in keeping with the Board-approved ANCOR tax reform principles that we adopted at the beginning of this debate.

ANCOR Tax Reform Principles

  1. Any process that includes changes to Medicaid should be accomplished through a process that affords sufficient opportunity for legislators, advocates, and constituents to review and provide feedback on the proposal and legislative language prior to passage.
  2. Individual or corporate tax cuts or expenditures must not be paid for by cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, or other mandatory or discretionary programs that promote independence, inclusion, and community living for people with disabilities.
  3. Tax reform should not decrease revenue to an extent that revenue is insufficient to continue to fund the programs and services and supports for people with disabilities at current levels or above.
  4. The charitable deduction should be maintained and improved for the non-profit sector which provides the majority of services and supports for people with disabilities.
  5. Unrelated business income tax should be held harmless to protect the vital role of nonprofits and associations in the disability services sector.

Thank you for your advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities. Should you have any questions or need more information, please contact Sarah Meek, ANCOR’s Director of Legislative Affairs, or Jack Phillips, RCPA’s Director of Government Affairs.

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RCPA received the following email from the Senate Aging Committee in Washington, DC. Please contact both Senators Casey and Toomey and your Congressman.

“Welcome back to health care by way of a tax bill.

This afternoon both the Senate and the House added to their tax bills a provision to repeal a key component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the individual mandate to obtain health insurance. Repealing this provision would have significant negative effects for people with disabilities, families of children with disabilities, and those who are aging.

  • Repealing the individual mandate will mean 13.8 million people will lose health care coverage (according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office); hundreds of thousands of those individuals have disabilities).
  • The repeal of the individual mandate will increase health insurance premiums for those purchasing coverage on the exchange by at least 10% per year for the unforeseeable future (also according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office); these premium increases will occur in addition to the increases that are occurring because the executive branch has decided to stop supporting cost sharing reduction (CSR) payments that have driven premiums up by an average of over 20% this year.
  • The repeal of the individual mandate will save approximately $330 billion over ten years that will go toward paying for a cut in corporate taxes and a cut to the tax rate for the most wealthy Americans (according to the CBO).

This new, last minute, major addition to the tax bills will have enormous impact on those with disabilities. In combination with the budget that passed three weeks ago and outlines over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and over $400 billion in cuts to Medicare, the proposed tax cuts and repeal of key provisions of the ACA will increase demand for Medicaid, decrease the funds available for home and community-based services and supports, and reduce the amount of revenue available to states to pay and support Medicaid.

While the tax bill does not directly cut Medicaid, the actions it takes will have the same or even worse effect on Medicaid and other services and supports for people with disabilities. If the House tax bill were to pass:

  • Deductions for medical expenses could not be used to decrease your taxes;
  • It would eliminate a $2,400 tax credit businesses could get when hiring someone with a disability;
  • It would eliminate a $5,000 tax credit for businesses that make their businesses accessible to people with disabilities;
  • It would eliminate the incentive to contribute to nonprofit agencies that often provide support for people with disabilities and their families; and
  • It would remove a tax credit for companies to develop and manufacture orphan drugs.

The assault on people with disabilities and their families is continuing, this time through a tax bill instead of through a health bill. And this is happening quickly with very little coverage. The Senate Finance Committee will likely vote on this bill Thursday or Friday of THIS week.

You can help by:

  • Contacting your Senators and Representatives and telling them the tax bills being considered are an attack on people with disabilities; and
  • Share this information with friends and family.

Thank you for your continued advocacy. Thank you for working to ensure dignity, independence, and economic sufficiency for people with disabilities.”

Questions, contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director, Government Affairs.

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Today, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously passed HB 478, the Outpatient Psychiatric Oversight Act. The bill now moves to the Senate floor. As background, RCPA and its members have been working on getting the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) to move the outpatient psychiatric regulations, which have been promulgated for more than three years.

Over the past few months, DHS has taken steps to move the outpatient regulations towards completion. RCPA supports DHS’ efforts to move this package of regulations; however, because of the length of time it has taken to move the regulations, certain provisions contained within the regulation package are antiquated or need to be updated to current outpatient service delivery standards.

Specifically, the psychiatric recruitment crisis has grown exponentially, especially in rural areas. By introducing HB 478, Rep. Pickett (R–Bradford, Sullivan, and Susquehanna Counties), the prime sponsor of the bill, has taken legislative action to update sections within the outpatient psychiatric regulation package to current outpatient service delivery standards, and to start implementing these updates immediately through this legislation.

In short, HB 478 provides that:

  • An outpatient psychiatric clinic needs to have a psychiatrist on site for two hours of psychiatric time per week for each full-time equivalent treatment staff member employed by the clinic;
  • Tele-psychiatry can be utilized by a psychiatrist, who has prescriptive authority in Pennsylvania and is not on site. The Department of Human Services will have to approve a service description;
  • 50 percent of the required on-site time may be provided by other advanced practice professionals specializing in behavioral health with prescriptive authority in Pennsylvania; and
  • The Department of Human Services will promulgate regulations as necessary to carry out the provisions of the act.

RCPA believes that Rep. Pickett’s bill, HB 478, will allow psychiatrists to see more clients in a timely fashion and ultimately increase access to psychiatric services, which is vital due to the shortage of psychiatrists in the Commonwealth.

As the bill moves through the process, RCPA will keep members informed. Contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs, with any questions.

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The means by which Senate Republicans can pass an Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal/replace bill by a simple majority budget process called reconciliation (and thus not requiring Democratic support of any kind) ends next week, at the end of September.

The Graham/Cassidy bill is now presenting a major threat to Medicaid – it replicates cuts presented in previous health proposals (using exact language from the Better Care Reconciliation Act – BCRA). According to earlier Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, it will cut Medicaid (outside of expansion) by $175 billion between 2020–2026, and $39 billion will be cut from the Medicaid program in 2026 alone.

RCPA requests members to contact Senators Casey and Toomey, and ask them to OPPOSE the Graham/Cassidy bill. For your convenience, the following materials will give you valuable information and talking points when speaking with staff or the Senators.

Questions, contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director, Government Affairs.

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Please join Sen. Bob Casey (PA) as he addresses the Graham-Cassidy proposal and the effects on Medicaid, adults with disabilities, children with complex health needs, schools, veterans, and those who are aging. Details for joining below:

What: Conference call with Sen. Bob Casey
When: Friday, September 22, 5:45 pm–6:15 pm EDT
Call in number: 866-317-5076, no PIN or ID necessary
No RSVP necessary

Questions, contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director, Government Affairs

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Yesterday, the State Senate voted 43–7 to non-concur with the House GOP’s budget revenue plan. The vote to non-concur intensifies the three-month budget stalemate between parties. Now that the House plan was rejected, leaders will have to go back to the drawing board to see how to cobble together the necessary votes to pass a budget revenue bill. The House may decide to tinker with the Senate revenue package, contained in HB 452, which includes the following revenue:

  • $571 million in new or increased taxes (which include a severance and gross receipt tax on Marcellus Shale drillers);
  • $1.3 billion in borrowing against the Tobacco Settlement Fund;
  • $200 million from fund transfers; and
  • $200 million from gaming expansion.

Or the House may amend HB 453, which was what the Senate rejected last night. HB 453 contains more than $2.4 billion in funds which come mostly in the form of transfers from various state special funds that, according to the Republicans, who crafted the revenue package, have “inordinately high” account balances.

After non-concurring with the House revenue package, the Senate recessed to the call of the Senate President Pro Tem, which means, members will remain on a six-hour call, ready to return to the Capitol should there be a resolution to the budget situation on which the chamber could vote. The House will return to session on Monday, September 25 at 1:00 pm.

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By Chris Comisac
Bureau Chief
Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (Sept. 20) – As warned by many, credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded Pennsylvania’s bond rating.

“The downgrade largely reflects the commonwealth’s chronic structural imbalance dating back nearly a decade, a history of late budget adoption, and our opinion that this pattern could continue,” said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Carol Spain on Wednesday about the decision to reduce Pennsylvania’s general obligation bond rating from AA- to A+. The downgrade increases the cost of borrowing by the Commonwealth, which in turns costs taxpayers more.

Spain added the downgrade – the sixth by the three major credit rating agencies since 2012 – reflects the weakening of Pennsylvania’s liquidity position, notably the delay or non-payment of scheduled expenditures for the first time in the Commonwealth’s history.

S&P noted state Treasurer Joe Torsella and Auditor General Eugene DePasquale cited the lack of near-term prospects of a balanced budget in their decision to refuse to authorize, as has been done in past years, lending to the state’s General Fund. Without a short-term loan from the Treasury, the state’s cash flow situation this month – revenues collected later in the month, but bills to pay earlier in the month – prompted the Commonwealth to delay paying $1.167 billion to Medicaid managed care organizations and a $581 million payment to cover the state’s share of public school employee pension obligations.

“We understand that the Commonwealth plans to make payments to both the Medicaid insurers and school districts within a week of the scheduled due dates; however, in the absence of additional liquidity, and with the likely need for external borrowing, these late payments could recur,” Spain said.

And while the ongoing budget mess, and the proposals offered by both the House and Senate, are major concerns for S&P, the agency had more of a problem “from a credit perspective” with the delayed payments.

“Deficit borrowing does not exemplify strong budget management practices, but, in our view, borrowing that restores the Commonwealth’s liquidity to a position in which it can make timely payments would be preferable from a credit perspective than an accumulation of unpaid bills,” explained Spain.

Wednesday’s downgrade of Pennsylvania’s credit rating appears to be a bit of a Rorschach test, with the reactions to the downgrade depending on the ideological and policy perspectives of the state officials reading the report.

“For months, I have warned that a credit downgrade was looming. I have said repeatedly for three years that we must responsibly fund the budget with recurring revenues. My budget proposal was balanced, cut more than $2 billion in expenditures and consolidated agencies, while also fixing the deficit,” said Gov. Tom Wolf in a statement Wednesday morning.

Senate Republican leaders, who like the governor have been urging a longer-range budgetary perspective, added in a combined statement: “The significance of this downgrade is something that we grasp and is part of why the Senate worked to finalize a responsible budget package in July. We agree with S&P’s concerns about the need for stability in our financial plans to address the ongoing structural deficit. We are concerned about the overall fiscal health of the Commonwealth. The perceptions of Pennsylvania and its finances are vital when attracting economic growth of small and large employers.”

Legislative Democrats were more pointed in their assessment of the situation, blaming House Republicans.

“The plan that House Republicans finally passed last week was a bad joke. It cuts vital services and doesn’t add up. It used almost every gimmick that the credit rating agencies specifically warned against. Costing Pennsylvania taxpayers millions of dollars in future costs is no joke, but that’s what House Republican obstruction has achieved,” said House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny.

“Given the House Republicans’ inaction for months followed by the passage of an irresponsible plan, it is not surprising that Pennsylvania’s credit rating was downgraded. Their plan was revenue deficient and would fail to put Pennsylvania on solid financial footing,” added Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny. “After review of the House Republican plan – including the $630 million in fund transfers – S&P took decisive action to downgrade our credit rating.”

House Republicans seized on S&P’s concern regarding unpaid state bills.

“When those in charge of the checkbook – the same fiscal officers who approved the deficit spending last fiscal year – very publicly refuse to pay bills, even as bank accounts hold billions, of course our credit rating will take a hit,” the leadership of the House Republican Caucus stated in a press release.

“Pennsylvanians are paying taxes and it is very disappointing Commonwealth budget costs will increase thanks to a small group of unknown people at Standard & Poor’s who make decisions based on interviews with a governor and press releases from the state’s fiscal officers,” added the House GOP.

S&P, along with Moody’s and Fitch, are the three main credit rating agencies globally. They wield significant power in the United States, with the federal government requiring banks to use their ratings. Given that influence, the agencies, their ratings and their methods have also been faulted for a least a portion of the many financial crises in this nation and around the world during the past decade.

The House GOP noted S&P’s prior credit rating for the state was AA-, which S&P website indicates Pennsylvania had a “very strong capacity to meet financial obligations.” The new rating of A+ means the state has a “strong capacity to meet financial commitments, but somewhat susceptible to adverse economic conditions and changes in circumstances.”

 

Despite the various interpretations of the downgrade, state officials – to a person – said the downgrade should be a wake-up call to get serious about balancing this year’s state budget and addressing the Commonwealth’s chronic imbalance, dating back nearly a decade, between expenditures and revenues, which has been eroding the state’s ability to pay its bills without additional short-term borrowing of significant amounts of money.

In addition to lowering the rating for the state’s general obligation bonds, S&P lowered its departmental appropriation rating for Pennsylvania to A- from A, and their departmental and moral obligation rating to BBB+ from A-, with the outlook for all of the bond ratings as “stable” (compared to the prior “negative” outlook, which means a downgrade is more likely).

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ALERT – Act Now to Stop Irreparable Medicaid Cuts!
Latest Available data on Graham/Cassidy

The next few days are critical!
Call Congress at (202) 224 3121 and
click here to send your Senators an email to VOTE NO.

The process by which Senate Republicans can pass an Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal/replace bill by a simple majority budget process called reconciliation (and thus not requiring Democratic support of any kind) ends next week, at the end of September.

The Graham/Cassidy bill is now presenting a major threat to Medicaid – it replicates cuts presented in previous health proposals (using exact language from the Better Care Reconciliation Act – BCRA). According to earlier Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, it will cut Medicaid (outside of expansion) by $175 billion between 2020-2026, and $39 billion will be cut from the Medicaid program in 2026 alone.

The situation has gotten worse. Last night, Chairman Alexander (R-TN) of the Senate HELP Committee who was leading bipartisan ACA fix efforts announced that the bipartisan deal is dead. That leaves the door wide open for Graham/Cassidy passage. Republican Senators are being told that the bill will benefit their state – that is false. This is a bill that seeks to save billions of federal dollars, not make policy improvements to health care programs.

The ACA will be replaced by block grants with likely less funding to states than they currently receive. and all of that money stops flowing completely to states in 10 years. The Medicaid program will be cut significantly and states will be expected to either pick up the bill or make tough decisions about whose lives are most at stake.

So here’s the timeline:

There are two Jewish holidays in the next two weeks that shorten the Senate session calendar. Today, Senators leave to observe Rosh Hashanah and will return Monday. They will have to pass a bill by Wednesday or Thursday because Yom Kippur (also observed by the Senate) begins at sundown next Thursday.

We will soon see a new Congressional Budget Office summary on the impact of Graham/Cassidy, and we expect the bill to be pushed hard next week to get to passage. We need three Republican Senators to oppose the bill in order for it to fail. Key Senators that could stop the bill are the same champions that ANCOR has awarded Congressional Leadership Awards to this year for defending our programs – Senator McCain (R-AZ), Senator Collins (R-ME), and Senator Murkowski (R-AK). Please make sure that if you are a constituent, or have connections in their states, that they hear from you!

IF YOU LIVE OR HAVE FRIENDS, FAMILY, OR COLLEAGUES IN STATES WITH REPUBLICAN SENATORS THEY MUST HEAR FROM US THAT THE GRAHAM/CASSIDY BILL WILL CREATE IRREPARABLE HARM TO PROGRAMS THAT PROTECT PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES!

THE NUMBERS ARE CLEAR THAT THIS IS A BAD DEAL FOR STATES! MAKE SURE YOUR REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HOUSE ARE RECEIVING THE SAME MESSAGE!

Capitol  Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Graham/Cassidy Text

  • Medicaid per capita cap section begins Section 124, page 65
  • Provider tax reduction is Section 123, page 64
  • Penalization to states that overspend, page 66
  • Per capita formula base period, page 68
  • Per capita formula inflation rate (CPI-M+1% until 2026 then CPI-M), page 76

Limited HCBS demo (we have intel this is for fear that per capita caps will end some state HCBS programs and need demo money to survive), page 96

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Yesterday, a group of state House Republicans held a press conference announcing they have found more than enough money to pay for both last year’s budget deficit and this year’s additional spending without raising any new taxes.

The more than $2.4 billion in funds would come mostly in the form of transfers from various state special funds that, according to the work group, have “inordinately high” account balances.

The state’s operating budget contains 218 such funds, most having both a balance for yearly operating expenses and a reserves balance (some also have investment fund balances as well), and the work group’s plan is to tap 41 of them. Of that total, the GOP legislators said 34 have been used in a similar fashion in the past, so precedent already exists for what they are proposing to do this budget year.

The transfers are as follows:

Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Fund

Proposed transfer: $27 million

Fund balance: $36.7 million

Fund purpose: Created in 1988, this fund was to be used for farmland preservation through the purchase of agricultural conservation easements.

 

Banking Fund

Proposed transfer: $25 million

Fund balance: $36.1 million

Fund purpose: It provides for the administration of the Department of Banking and Securities and regulation of the financial services industry and are to be used in the event of a seizure or liquidation of a financial institution, association or credit union.

 

Environmental Stewardship Fund

Proposed transfer: $72.7 million

Fund balance: $104.8 million

Fund purpose: This fund, which is fueled by money that comes in from landfill fees, is to provide for farmland preservation, open space protection, abandoned mine reclamation, watershed protection and restoration, water and sewer infrastructure, and improvement and conservation of state and community parks and recreational facilities.

 

Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund

Proposed transfer: $50 million

Fund balance: $80.4 million

Fund’s purpose: Created in 1987, this fund is to finance the cleanup and restoration of abandoned hazardous waste sites in the commonwealth.

 

Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund

Proposed transfer: $100 million

Fund balance: $147.6 million

Fund’s purpose: This is to provide for increased acquisitions, improvements, and expansions of state and community parks, recreation facilities, historic sites, zoos, public libraries, nature preserves and wildlife habitats.

 

Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund

Proposed transfer: $49 million

Fund balance: $59.5 million

Fund’s purpose: Created in 1988, this fund is to provide low-interest financing for machinery and equipment for Pennsylvania businesses to facilitate their growth, competitiveness, and value-added capacity.

 

Multimodal Transportation Fund

Proposed transfer: $120 million

Fund balance: $189.8 million

Fund’s purpose: Created in 2013, this is to provide for additional funding for passenger rail, rail freight, ports and waterways, aviation, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, roads and bridges and other modes of transportation.

 

911 Fund

Proposed transfer: $40 million

Fund balance: $74 million

Fund’s purpose: Created in 2015, this fund, fueled by a surcharge on cell phone bills, is to support a statewide integrated 911 plan.

 

PA Infrastructure Bank Fund

Proposed transfer: $30 million

Fund balance: $52.9 million

Fund’s purpose: Established in 1997, this fund is to make loans to or enter into leases with qualified borrowers to finance the costs of transportation projects and rail freight infrastructure.

 

Public Transportation Trust Fund

Proposed transfer: $357 million

Fund balance: $477.8 million

Fund’s purpose: Created in 2007, this is to provide dedicated funding for public transportation to cover public transit agencies’ operating costs, capital and asset improvements, and programs of statewide significance.

 

Racing Fund

Proposed transfer: $27 million

Fund balance: $36.2 million

Fund’s purpose: This fund is to be used for the regulation of horse and harness racing.

 

Recycling Fund

Proposed transfer: $75 million

Fund balance: $89.5 million

Fund’s purpose: Created in 1988, this fund, fueled by a fee on waste disposed at landfills or recycling centers, is for recycling and planning grants, market and waste minimization studies, and public information and education activities.

 

Small Business First Fund

Proposed transfer: $25 million

Fund balance: $27.5 million

Fund’s purpose: This provides low-interest loans for small businesses of 100 employees or less for such projects as land and building acquisition and construction, machinery and equipment purchases, working capital, compliance with environmental regulations and municipal or commercial recycling.

 

Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund

Proposed transfer: $100 million

Fund balance: $224.7 million*

Fund’s purpose: Created in 1989, this fund is to provide claim payments to owners and operators of underground storage tanks who incur liability for taking corrective action or bodily injury or property damage caused by a release from underground storage tanks.

*Rep. Dan Moul said this was the year-end balance on June 30, 2017.

 

Volunteer Companies Loan Fund

Proposed transfer: $25 million

Fund balance: $49.3 million

Fund’s purpose: This fund provides loans for acquisition and replacement of volunteer fire, ambulance, and rescue company equipment and facilities.

 

Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association

The plan proposes to take $200 million from this fund that was created by state law to offer medical malpractice insurance of last resort for doctors and medical facilities.

 

Budgetary reserve

The plan proposes to eliminate $189.4 million that was included in the enacted 2017/18 state budget that was put in reserve by Gov. Tom Wolf to ease the state’s cash flow problem while waiting on a completed revenue package.

 

Among the items that would be impacted by cutting out this funding altogether are the $5 million for Capitol Complex fire protection that is paid to the City of Harrisburg; $4 million for the mobile science van program; and more than $1.1 million for mental health services, along with 65 other budget lines that would get trimmed.

 

Unspent money from past years

The plan includes using $400 million in money that was appropriated in past years but went unspent.

 

Managed Care Organization Assessment Increase

The plan proposes to use the increase in the annual monetary assessment on managed care organizations that went into effect on July 1 to generate $100 million to help fully fund the state budget.

 

Redirecting tax dollars to general fund from restricted accounts

The plan calls for diverting $100 million of tax money that is carved out for special funds and redirect to help bring the state’s general fund into balance.

 

VW Settlement

The plan calls for using the $30.4 million that Pennsylvania received from a settlement of a multi-state lawsuit against Volkswagen over the company’s diesel emissions-cheating scandal.

 

Tapping the PA Liquor Control Board for more money

The plan also would require an additional $25 million transfer from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board from wine and spirit sales, for a total of $210 million.

 

Imposing a sales tax on online marketplace

The plan proposes to recover more state sales tax from online purchases to generate $31.7 million. The Senate-passed tax and borrowing plan to balance the budget also included this as a revenue generator.

 

Cutting tax credits

The plan calls for cutting in half funding available for most state tax credit programs but leaves the popular Educational Improvement and Opportunity Scholarship tax credit programs untouched. This is expected to free up $28.3 million.

 

The PA House is scheduled to reconvene next Monday, September 11, and during the session week the House as a whole will determine whether there’s enough support within their own caucus to pass the work group’s proposal. House Democrats and the Governor’s office do not support the work group’s plan.

 

As more information becomes available, RCPA will keep members informed. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director, Government Affairs.

 

*Information contained in this info sourced from a Pennlive.com article – Here’s a breakdown of ‘taxpayers’ budget’ and how it avoids a major tax increase or borrowing money, posted on September 05, 2017, at 06:20 pm | Updated September 06, 2017 at 06:18 am and a Capitolwire news story written by Capitolwire Staff Writers Robert Swift and Carley Mossbrook.

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