Capitol Beat

Southwest Republicans outline 2022 wish list ahead of budget address

State Rep. Rob Mercuri speaks at a House GOP press conference

State Rep. Rob Mercuri speaks at a House GOP press conference Justin Sweitzer

Members of the House Republican Caucus’ southwest delegation gathered in the state Capitol on Monday to outline their main priorities heading into the state’s 2022-23 budget cycle – with the economy, education, energy and health care topping the list. 

With Gov. Tom Wolf set to give his final budget address on Tuesday, Republican lawmakers outlined a “New Day for PA” plan and said the state should prioritize “pro-growth” policies that reform the state’s tax laws and take advantage of the state’s natural gas deposits, among other policy goals. 

State Rep. Natalie Mihalek, of Allegheny County, criticized policies sought by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration throughout his time in office and said his agenda has been made up of “repeated attempts to raise taxes on working families” and “job-killing cap and trade policies.”



Mihalek said state lawmakers should take the state in a different direction by making the commonwealth more business-friendly, prioritizing public safety and improving education. 

“We know Pennsylvania is better. We know its potential. It is time to create a pro-growth environment where you can have a family-sustaining job in a safe neighborhood, with your kids receiving the best education available,” she said. “Instead of continuing to follow the governor down a path of failed policies, it is time to usher in a new day for PA.”

State Rep. Rob Mercuri, also of Allegheny County, noted that Pennsylvania lost a congressional seat in the most recent census because the state’s population growth is not keeping up with that of other states. Addressing the state’s economy is one way to reverse that trend, Mercuri said. 

“We're a place that is losing population; we’re a place in decline. We have to start acknowledging that and it begins with our economic environment. It begins with the businesses that we can attract and retain in Pennsylvania,” he said. 

Mihalek and her colleagues from the southwest delegation outlined a range of proposals that lawmakers should consider in the weeks and months to come, including:

  • Lowering the state’s Corporate Net Income Tax rate
  • Relaxing limits on net operating loss deductions
  • Streamlining the state’s regulatory processes 
  • Developing a permitting and regulatory framework for carbon capture and storage
  • Addressing nurse staffing shortages
  • Directing more funds and resources to police and law enforcement
  • Making sure schools and educational institutions train students for in-demand jobs

The New Day for PA proposal didn’t outline any specific funding for some of the priorities outlined by southwest Republicans, though Mihalek said they could serve as starting points as state budget negotiations take place over the coming months. 

“These are some areas that we've identified that are unique to our region and we think that [these] policies moving forward can be very helpful,” Mihalek said.

Over the last few weeks, Democrats have also outlined their own agendas heading into the spring, with Wolf suggesting the state use $1.7 billion in COVID-19 dollars to help families struggling with increased living costs, direct funds to small businesses and provide property relief to homeowners and renters. 

Senate Democrats offered their own $3.75 billion spending plan, which would direct billions in state and federal funds to schools.

A spokesperson for House Democrats declined to comment, while Wolf’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the House GOP’s “New Day For PA” plan.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.