Shown is the Pennsylvania Capitol building Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)
State lawmakers now have the official report on the money Pennsylvania netted this fiscal year.
As expected, there’s a surplus. But it won’t go nearly as far as some officials have hoped.
The Independent Fiscal Office said Friday that the commonwealth can count on ending the year with $910 million to spare. That’s a jump from their initial estimate of $866 million in May.
But the number dwindles when factoring in the amount the state overspent — $548 million dollars. Governor Tom Wolf said it mostly comes from unexpected Medicaid costs.
Lawmakers also tried to transfer $200 million dollars from a state-created medical malpractice insurer for the third year in a row. But that money is tied up in court, so it’ll be made up with back-payments from the coming fiscal year.
That leaves around $162 million dollars. Wolf said he doesn’t want to spend it.
“I agree with the Republicans that we ought to put that into the rainy day fund — into our cookie jar,” he said.
A spokesman for Wolf noted, since budget negotiations aren’t yet final, the exact dollar amount that ends up in the rainy day fund could change.
Some Democrats have suggested other approaches — like putting surplus dollars into an emergency fund for school repairs.
Wolf said he doesn’t think there’s enough left over to make a difference, and maintains the state should fund infrastructure in other ways.