State Budget

Tracking State Budget Trends

  • December 2, 2016

The 2016-17 General Fund budget added to Pennsylvania’s fiscal challenges. Lawmakers approved the $31.6 billion budget without implementing meaningful reforms or authorizing enough revenue to balance the budget. Despite lacking…

Fact Sheet

Read More: Tracking State Budget Trends

Regulation

Pennsylvania Deficit Watch: December 2016

  • December 2, 2016

State revenue collections came in at $79.5 million below the official estimate for November, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Lackluster collections wiped away the little progress made during October when revenue collections…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania Deficit Watch: December 2016

Regulation

New IFO Report Emphasizes Need to Reform Spending

  • November 16, 2016

New IFO Report Emphasizes Need to Reform Spending State Faces up to $900 Million Budget Hole This Year November 16, 2016, Harrisburg, Pa.—Yesterday’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) mid-year…

Press Release

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Regulation

Pennsylvania Deficit Watch: November 2016

  • November 10, 2016

Last month we raised concerns about Pennsylvania's fiscal trajectory. At the time, state revenue collections were more than $218 million below the official estimate. The current revenue picture is slightly…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania Deficit Watch: November 2016

Regulation

Pennsylvania Deficit Watch: October 2016

  • October 7, 2016

Pennsylvania’s state budget is three months old and showing signs of a major budget deficit. Actual revenue collections are already behind $218.5 million through the first quarter, according to…

Media

Read More: Pennsylvania Deficit Watch: October 2016

Government Accountability

New Labor Contracts Will Add to Taxpayers’ Burden

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 28, 2016

New union contracts will make state government more expensive, according to two analyses released by the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO). The IFO projects contracts negotiated by the Wolf Administration…

Media

Read More: New Labor Contracts Will Add to Taxpayers’ Burden

State Budget

Facing Likely Deficit, Lawmakers Should Reduce Spending

  • August 31, 2016

Fiscal responsibility is at a premium across the country, and Pennsylvania is no exception. In June, lawmakers passed a budget that increased spending by $1.6 billion. Weeks later, they passed…

Media

Read More: Facing Likely Deficit, Lawmakers Should Reduce Spending

State Budget

State Government is Spending Money it Doesn’t Have

  • July 6, 2016

Pennsylvania is spending taxpayer money it doesn’t have. Yesterday the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its report on revenue collections for the past fiscal year. Total revenue came in…

Media

Read More: State Government is Spending Money it Doesn’t Have

Government Accountability

Local School District Leads the Way on Transparency

  • June 14, 2016

The Quakertown Community School Board (QCSB) is scrapping a conventional collective bargaining practice. Normally, unions and public employers don’t reveal the details of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) until after…

Media

Read More: Local School District Leads the Way on Transparency