Addressing the Gap: A General Fund Update Budget Briefing

By House Appropriations Committee Staff , | 13 years ago

On June 30, 2010, the General Assembly adopted a balanced budget. However, in the months following, a variety of events led to a gap between General Fund revenues and expenditures. In August 2010, Governor Rendell proposed to resolve this gap through a combination of spending freezes (budgetary reserves) and funds from a proposed Marcellus Shale severance tax which has not been enacted. While revenue collections have been encouraging, the Commonwealth still faces significant challenges to close the budget gap in the current and upcoming fiscal years. The disappearance of Federal Stimulus Funds, loss of one-time revenue, and increasing mandatory costs (such as pensions) will continue to grow the gap in the upcoming budget year.

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