State Senator says two-year budgets are recipe for fixing financial gridlock

    Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg (Tashka/Bigstock)

    Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg (Tashka/Bigstock)

    A Pennsylvania legislator says since it’s been taking so long to put state budgets together, lawmakers should craft ones that last two years instead of one.

    “For those that rely, whether it be school districts, human service agencies, that rely on state funding it would give greater predictability in terms of when they can receive state funding,” said state Sen Ryan Aument, Republican from Lancaster County.

    The Pennsylvania budget that was supposed to be in place by July 2015 ended up passing nine months later. And when Ed Rendell was governor, there were multiple years when budgets were late.

    Pennsylvania wouldn’t be trying anything all that new.  Aument says 26 other states have two-year budget budget cycles.

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    Aument says the change would take an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution and he believes it could happen.

    “It certainly seems to me that we should be able to have political disagreements, have robust debate in Harrisburg about appropriations about state spending about policy decisions we ought not do harm to the citizens to this commonwealth while we have those discussions,” he said.

    The senator says he plans to introduce his bill in the next two weeks.

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