Legislature – 2-5-21

Governor Tom Wolf delivered his pre-recorded budget address virtually on Wednesday to the legislature, officially kicking off the 2021-22 budget season. The $40.2 billion spending plan is an increase of more than $3 billion from last fiscal year and includes an increase in the minimum wage, a boost in education spending and upping the state’s Personal Income Tax from 3.07% to 4.49%. With regard to broadband, the Governor’s Budget in Brief document highlights his Restore PA proposal pre-pandemic and its partial focus on BB deployment and notes that since COVID has fundamentally changed a myriad of factors, it is  a “fundamental pillar” to “economic vitality.”