Pennsylvania State & Local Taxpayer Debt

Gov. Tom Corbett’s FY 2011-12 budget proposal includes $63.6 billion in total operating spending—$27.3 billion in General Fund spending—a reduction of $3.3 billion from FY 2010-11. This budget restores overall spending to pre-stimulus levels and proposes no new taxes. This is the fourth in a series of fact sheets on the state budget

Today, Pennsylvanians owe $127 billion in state and local government debt. This equates to more than $10,000 for every person, and more than $40,000 for the average family of four in the Commonwealth—an increase of more than $12,000 since 2002.

• This total represents bonded debt, and excludes unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities for government workers, borrowing for unemployment compensation, and short-term tax anticipation notes, which add tens of billions more in obligations for Pennsylvania taxpayers.

State Debt

Since 2002, total outstanding state general obligation debt increased 54%, from $6.8B to $10.5B.

• Annual debt payments on general obligation bonds increased from $349M in FY 2002-03 to $1.1B in the FY 2011-12 budget, an increase of 203% in annual debt payments in nine years.

State Agencies & Authorities Debt

Three-fourths of Pennsylvania’s state-level borrowing is done by off-budget state agencies and authorities, like the Turnpike Commission and the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

• Debt held by state agencies and authorities increased from $16.8B in 2002 to nearly $34.2B in 2009—an increase of 103%.
  
• Total Pennsylvania state and state agencies and authorities debt increased from $23.6B to more than $44.7B in the last eight years—representing a total state-level increase of 89%.

School District Debt

Pennsylvania taxpayers are also experiencing an increase in debt at the school district level.

• According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, school district debt increased from $19.3B in 2002 to $26.1B in 2009—an increase of 35%.

County, Municipal, Township, & Special District Debt

Other local government debt represents more than 40% of all taxpayer debt in the Commonwealth.

• According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data (2008) and Commonwealth Foundation projections, county, municipal, township, and special district debt increased from $44.9B in 2002 to $56.5B in 2009—an increase of 26%.

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For more on Government Borrowing and Debt, visit www.CommonwealthFoundation.org

The Commonwealth Foundation (www.CommonwealthFoundation.org) is an independent, non-profit research and educational institute.