Third and State

This week at Third and State, we blogged about the state budget, the danger facing America's leading food security program, Pennsylvania's unremarkable private-sector job performance, and a gambit by payday lenders that backfired.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• On state budget and taxes, Sharon Ward shared the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center's detailed analysis of the 2013-14 budget, and Michael Wood explained that tax changes enacted along with the budget made some steps toward reform but weigh the state's Tax Code down with more special interest tax breaks.
• On the federal budget, Sharon Ward wrote that legislation separating agricultural programs from nutrition supports funded through the farm bill poses a threat to food assistance for millions of struggling parents, children, and vulnerable citizens.
• On jobs, Stephen Herzenberg blogged that Pennsylvania’s private-sector job growth has almost stalled since about a year into Governor Corbett's term.
• On consumer protection, Mark Price explained how payday lenders won few friends in the state Senate when they convinced House leaders to insert language into a must-pass Fiscal Code bill stating it was the intent of House and Senate leaders to enact payday legislation in the fall.

STATE BUDGET RESOURCES:

• Get all the facts on the 2013-14 state budget with the following analyses and resources from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center:
• Budget Analysis: State Budget Fails to Make Up Lost Ground
• Tax Code Analysis: Small Steps Toward Reform But Special Tax Breaks Remain
• School Code Bill Sets Education Funding 'Formula'
• Media Statement: Budget Falls Short on Education, Health Care, Tax Reform

This week at Third and State, we blogged about a new Independent Fiscal Office report showing state revenues lagging earlier estimates, a study on salaries at nonprofit and for-profit human service providers, the budget and economic benefits of expanding Medicaid health coverage, a webinar on the public pensions debate, and job growth in Pennsylvania.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• On state budget and tax policy, Michael Wood blogged about a new report from the Independent Fiscal Office forecasting over $500 million less available for the next budget than revenue estimates in the Governor’s February budget proposal. Sharon Ward wrote about a new Legislative Budget and Finance Committee study of the salaries of nonprofit and for-profit human service providers.
• On jobs and the economy, Mark Price wrote that policy decisions made by governors impact whether a state’s economy takes on more water, or bails successfully, as it rides the wave of the national economy.
• On health care, Chris Lilienthal blogged about two studies demonstrating that Pennsylvania’s economy and state budget will get a big boost if the commonwealth accepts federal funding allocated to expand Medicaid health coverage.
• Finally, we shared a webinar hosted this week by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center titled "Untangling Pennsylvania's Pension Reform Debate."

IN OTHER NEWS:

• The Keystone Research Center (KRC) put out a memo to members of the Senate Law and Justice Committee on the social impacts of privatizing Pennsylvania's wine and spirits stores.
• The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center (PBPC) published an analysis of April revenue collections and an overview of the Independent Fiscal Office's preliminary revenue estimate.
• PBPC released an analysis of House Bill 440, legislation that advances the Governor's corporate tax cut plan at the expense of investments that really matter in our schools and communities.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• Get the latest budget news at PBPC's State Budget and Tax Policy Page.
• Learn more about the federal opportunity to expand health coverage in Pennsylvania at PBPC's Medicaid Expansion Resource Page.
• Learn more about pension reform in Pennsylvania at KRC's Pensions Issue Page.
• Learn more about education in Pennsylvania at PBPC's Education Facts Page with data on student enrollment, education funding, and school poverty.