Pennsylvania Governor Corbett Signs His Second Balanced Budget without Raising Taxes

            Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, a Republican, signed the Commonwealth’s budget for fiscal year 2012-2013, which the majority Republican General Assembly approved on time for the second year in a row – a rare feat in Pennsylvania. 

Like Corbett’s first year budget, this year’s balances the budget by cutting spending – limiting it to less than the inflation rate, plus the rate of population growth – without raising taxes.  Additional revenue from taxes allowed for less cuts in spending for education and other programs than originally proposed, and the inclusion of an emergency fund for distressed schools.  The Governor won the inclusion of a tax credit for businesses’ scholarships for school choice, as well as tax credits to lure an ethane plant.  The budget continues the phase-out of the onerous capital stock and franchise tax (a tax on assets, in addition to income).  It also includes the block-granting of welfare programs to counties in order for them to prioritize funds more effectively.

            Meanwhile, Corbett was also involved with a successful bipartisan state and federal effort to keep a major oil refinery in Philadelphia open and even to expand it.  The Corbett Administration continues to crack down on welfare fraud.  Since he signed his last budget, the Governor also signed legislation to ban the dangerous drugs known as “bath salts” and the voter identification law.  See Corbett Signs Voter ID Requirement into Law, from March of 2012:  http://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2012/03/corbett-signs-voter-id-requirement-into.html.  He was also hailed for his handling of devastating floods in Pennsylvania.

Governor Corbett has held off on implementing the establishment of exchanges under the federalization of health insurance scheme approved by the liberal Democratic Congress and United States President Barak Obama; the Governor and Legislature are considering opting out of the costly Medicaid expansion, now that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal threat to withhold all of the Medicaid funds to a state that opts out, and not only the additional funds for the expansion, to be an unconstitutional violation of states’ rights.  The Keystone State under then-Attorney General Corbett was a party to the partly-successful state lawsuit led by Florida challenging the constitutionality of the health insurance federalization.