Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg. Photo: Waldteufel – Fotolia

Rainy-Day Fund

Gov. Tom Wolf on June 9 announced a $317 million deposit into the commonwealth's Rainy Day Fund, the largest transfer in nearly two decades. Wolf was joined by Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella for the announcement at the Capitol.

The Wolf administration said in a statement that the fiscal move comes after “restoring stability to Pennsylvania's finances.”

Following a $22 million deposit last year, the first in nearly 10 years, the state's savings account will have a total balance of $340 million—over 1,000 times more than when Wolf took office.

“This contribution to the Rainy Day Fund is not just a sign that our economy is strong today, but that it will continue to grow because we are building the safety net we need for any future challenges,” Wolf said. “I am proud of the legislature for recognizing that responsible financial planning includes making good spending decisions alongside saving for the future.”

Torsella framed ramped-up “rainy-day” funding as prudent preparation for a possible economic downturn or natural disaster.

“None of us has the luxury of knowing when the next economic downturn, or environmental crisis, or natural disaster will strike,” Torsella said. “But we can take steps to better prepare ourselves to continue serving the people of this commonwealth when it does and make sure that we don't have to cut programs or raise revenue at the worst possible time. I commend Gov. Wolf and the General Assembly for their continued commitment to shoring up the Rainy Day Fund and hope to see this continue far into the future.”

In the wake of the 2008 economic downturn, the Rainy Day Fund was used to compensate for a decrease in state revenue. To pay bills, the state government used more than $755 million from the fund, leaving just $60,000 in the till.

School Testing

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on July 10 urged state education officials to drop the Keystone Exams, which cost tens of millions of dollars to administer and can be easily replaced, he said, by nationally recognized tests such as the SAT.

Keystone Exams have not been required under federal law for four years, DePasquale said in a report on standardized testing in Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania should aggressively explore using a nationally recognized test that can open new doors for students rather than continuing to spend money on an exam that is no longer required,” DePasquale said. “For less than what Pennsylvania spends on the Keystone Exams, it could instead pick up the tab for every high school student to take the PSAT or SAT.”

Federal law requires that all states administer a secondary-level standardized test; however, since 2015, when the No Child Left Behind Act was replaced, the state-specific Keystone Exams were no longer required.

But rather than phase out the state-specific tests—which at least 12 other states have done—the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is still paying the tests' creator, Minnesota-based Data Recognition Corp., to administer and score the Keystone Exams.

Between 2015 and 2021, Pennsylvania will have spent nearly $100 million on the Keystone Exams, according to DePasquale.

Rape Kits

A Republican lawmaker said he has a legislative solution that could allow rape-kit testing to proceed even though funding for it did not appear in the 2019-20 fiscal year.

State Rep. Tommy Sankey, R-Clearfield, said in a statement July 11 that he has introduced a three-bill package—two of which would allow Pennsylvanians to direct funds to the effort—to quicken the pace of testing across the state:

• House Bill 35 would establish a Sexual Assault Kit Processing Fund, a restricted account within the State Treasury that would fund grants for local law enforcement agencies with rape kit testing costs.
• House Bill 36 would provide space on the Pennsylvania individual income tax return form for voluntarily contribution to address the cost of sexual assault examination kit processing. The amount designated will be deducted from the tax refund of the individual making the designation.
• House Bill 580 would allow contributions to be made for sexual offense evidence testing when renewing a driver's license, identification card or vehicle registration.

“The legislation I'm offering would give every taxpayer an opportunity to help bring closure to victims of these crimes, and possibly even prevent a repeat offense against a future victim at the hands of a criminal who is currently at large,” Sankey said.

Gun Safety

A Democratic state senator July 10 announced his plan to introduce legislation that would repeal the recently granted concurrent jurisdiction given to the Pennsylvania attorney general in gun-related crimes, such as illegal possession and sales.

Pennsylvania Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, said Act 58 gave the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office concurrent jurisdiction in cases coming out of Philadelphia for two years.

Pennsylvania's other 66 counties are not subject to concurrent jurisdiction under the act.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro has said he would not exercise the authority granted to him under Act 58. But Hughes said the measure is an attempt to curb the authority of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.

“Philadelphians want safe, peaceful communities, which is why our relentless focus should be on ending gun violence instead of playing the blame game,” he said.

Hughes also said it was “troublesome” that the jurisdiction grant could upend cooperation between the DA and AG on the Gun Violence Task Force, which has been granted $2.5 million to get guns off city streets.