On Wednesday, the PA Senate went into a special session and passed two fiscal code bills related to the 2023-24 budget, which is still incomplete as of this morning.
According to a joint announcement from Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and Appropriations Committee member Scott Martin, the senate advanced two bills to implement what they felt were key parts of the budget and get funding out to schools, hospitals, EMS providers, higher education, libraries and more. House Bill 1300, which advanced on a bipartisan vote, reauthorizes assessments and payments to hospitals, increases reimbursements to EMS organizations, and reauthorizes judicial fees for courts that rely on state funding. The bill also provides a tuition freeze for state system schools.
The other bill, Senate Bill 757, addressed other parts of the original budget deal that Senate Republicans worked on with Governor Josh Shapiro, including the creation of the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success program, and $150 million in new funding for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program.
On the floor of the Senate, Pittman called the two bills “common sense” legislation, and that he wanted to focus on what they are able to do.
The bills need House authorization to move forward, but the state house is not due back in Harrisburg until September 26th, unless they are also called back for a special session.
