The House and Senate Appropriations committees have wrapped up budget hearings with the state agencies, gathering details on the Governor's proposed FY 2020-2021 commonwealth budget. Below are highlights of how counties' 2020 priorities played into those discussions .

Increased Funding For Mental Health Services: Both the House and Senate Appropriations committees asked a number of agencies about mental health service availability, including the Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), Department of Corrections (DOC), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), Department of Education (PDE), and more. Many agencies highlighted the need for increased services, although the governor's budget request did not include increased funding to assure the need for these valuable and critical services and resources can be met.

County Property Tax Reform: In the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) hearing, Rep. Rosemary Brown (R-Monroe) inquired about property tax burden by county. IFO Director Matthew Knittel noted that property tax burden, school and county property tax, varies across the state, and to alleviate the burden, other taxing options are needed. Knittel noted the sales and use tax is an obvious choice due to its ability to gather major revenue. Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) sparked a similar conversation in the Senate hearing, trying to understand where Pennsylvania falls nationally regarding tax burden. In a response letter later released by the IFO, a property tax burden study is underway and the IFO will release its report on the issue later this spring.

Former CCAP member Sen. Mario Scavello (R-Monroe) discussed the gas and fuels tax, suggesting revenue generated could relieve municipality property tax. State Treasurer Joe Torsella commended the legislator's work on property tax relief and believes there needs to be a "broad conversation" on property tax.

Rural Broadband Expansion: Rep. Lee James (R-Venango) asked Sec. Curtis Topper of the Department of General Services about the department's role in rural broadband expansion. Topper replied that the department does not have a formal role in expanding broadband, but is working with a provider to identify opportunities and assets in rural areas, noting leveraging assets will not be enough to address the issue.

Former CCAP member Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R-Wayne) asked Budget Secretary Jen Swails about the administration's investment in broadband expansion, in the absence of specific earmarked funds. Swails noted the governor's Restore PA infrastructure initiative, which would provide for a severance tax, under which broadband would be an eligible expense.

 Adult Probation Funding: While funding for adult probation did not come up often in the budget hearings, there were several references to the probation and parole system, especially in terms of reform made from both the House and Senate to the DOC and Board of Probation and Parole.

The Department of Revenue's monthly collections report for February shows that the state's general fund revenue collections for February exceeded anticipated collections by 4.4%, leaving fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections 1.2% above estimates.

The corporation tax revenues for February underperformed, coming in at 4.3% below estimate, while sales, personal income, inheritance and realty transfer taxes, as well as non-tax revenue all came in above estimate. April is typically the largest collection month for the personal income tax revenue stream but could shift this year amid discussions of extending the tax deadline in light of the coronavirus pandemic. March has historically been the state's largest revenue collection month of the year for business-related taxes .

 

Natural gas production was up 7.6% in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to the same quarter a year earlier, a recent report of the state's Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) showed. The IFO report also indicated that for calendar year 2019, total production was up 11.4% from the prior year.

In addition, there was over an 8% increase in the total number of producing wells in 2019 compared to the prior year, and average production per well was also up by more than 17.4% from 2018 to 2019. The report shows the number of wells spud during calendar year 2019 have been on the decline, with a total of 610 spud during the entire year, but only 117 in the fourth quarter of the year, down from 132 in the third quarter. In 2017, 810 wells were spud and in 2018, a total of 779 wells were spud.

Wells in four counties, Susquehanna, Washington, Greene and Bradford, made up two-thirds of statewide production in 2018 and again in 2019. Pennsylvania remains ranked second only to Texas in a state comparison of gross natural gas production from all well types. The full report is available at www.ifo.state.pa.us .

Local Government Unconventional Gas Well Fund Usage Reports required under Act 13 of 2012 will be due to the PUC by Apr. 15, 2020. All Local Government Unconventional Gas Well Funds received in 2019 must be reported. Details about the usage reports, including all necessary information regarding the online and paper reporting systems, can be found in CCAP's recently updated Act 13 Frequently Asked Questions or on our Act 13/Shale Gas Resources web page . Reports can be filed electronically via the Act 13 Reporting website or via paper form .