Flood Comments on Shapiro’s Budget Proposal

March 7, 2023

HARRISBURG – Rep. Ann Flood (R- Northampton) attended a joint session of the General Assembly today to hear Gov. Josh Shapiro outline his budget proposal for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Rep. Ann Flood (R-Northampton) shared her own thoughts and issued the following statement:

“The governor is proposing a spending increase of $2.5 billion, or 5.9%, over the current year. Additionally, the governor’s proposal would raid the $5 billion Rainy Day Fund to balance his proposed budget within five years.

“On a positive note, I am happy to see that PreK-12 education would increase by almost $900 million or 5.6% and special education is proposed to be increased by nearly $104 million. The proposal includes a $1 million increase in grants to senior centers to increase participation and programming at senior community centers and $16.4 million in funding for four new state police cadet classes.”

“Republicans remain focused on wise spending, making the taxpayers of Pennsylvania our priority. It is incredibly important to the fiscal future of the Commonwealth that we maintain a healthy amount of money in our Rainy-day Fund, and I am incredibly concerned that as inflation continues to rise, we as a Commonwealth will be unprepared to fight it.”

“My colleagues and I will begin reviewing the governor’s proposal and I am confident that the final state budget will benefit Pennsylvania and it’s future.”

Flood noted that the governor’s address is just the beginning of the annual budget process. The House Appropriations Committee, of which Flood is a member, will conduct a series of hearings starting Tuesday, March 20 to examine the details of the governor’s plan and how state departments and agencies are spending their money. A schedule of the hearings and more information on the 2023-24 budget is available at pahousegop.com.

Representative Ann Flood
138th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jordan Walters
717-260-6528
jwalters@pahousegop.com
RepFlood.com / Facebook.com/RepAnnFlood