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(July 2005) Initial reports of Pennsylvania's new state budget naturally focused on big-ticket items. IssuesPA looked a little deeper. While the direction of state spending polices changed very little, some individuals and groups did better than others in the 2005-2006 state budget. Here's a quick review of winners and losers.

So who are the winners?

1. Members of the legislature, judges, administration officials. The budget package contained a significant pay raise for high-level state officials. Although Pennsylvania's Constitution prohibits legislators and administration officials from receiving a raise before reappointment or re-election, legislators will benefit immediately by accepting the raise as "un-vouchered expenses."
   
   
2. Legislators (again). At one point early in the budget process, it looked like special legislative initiatives (often called WAMs, short for Walking Around Money), a tradition in state budgets - would take a back seat to more pressing state government needs. The approved budget appears to scale back these initiatives only slightly. However, those concerned about these issues will need a magnifying glass and other assorted detective tools to figure out just how much will be spent, as well as where legislative initiatives stop and programs begin.
   
   
3. Some school districts. School districts as a whole will receive an average 3%increase in basic education funding. Since this is an average, some school districts will benefit more, especially those that have comparatively less tax base (market value of real estate and income), more students in poverty, high tax effort, growth in enrollments, and/or are smaller in size. Since no one school district likely exhibits all of these characteristics, the benefit varies from district to district.
   
   
4. Education/Job Training system. The Governor got most of what he asked for with Job Ready Pennsylvania, one of only a few new initiatives in his February budget proposal. Education institutions will use most of the money to provide training to present and future employees in key job specialties.
   
   
5. Department of Public Welfare clients. The Department of Public Welfare received the largest budget increase among all state departments - an additional $686.5 million for 2005-06. Major beneficiaries include medical assistance recipients (there's a catch, though - keep reading), children served through county child welfare programs, and people needing mental health and mental retardation services.
   
   
6. Environmentalists, campers, sportsmen and other assorted "green-leaning" citizens. Although not part of the main budget, the Growing Greener initiative passed the legislature, providing borrowed and reallocated money for acid mine drainage abatement, state parks and forests, the Fish and Boat Commission, The Game Commission, and farmland preservation.

Who are the losers (and those "not very big" winners)?

1. Cabinet officials. Cabinet officials will receive a significant pay raise. However, unlike their legislative counterparts, they will have to hang around until 2007 and hope their boss, the Governor, wins re-election to see the change in their paychecks. Otherwise, their successors will be the beneficiaries. Another issue? The new holes in their department administrative budgets. Most are required to cut 2% from their operating budgets this year - on top of cuts implemented in previous years.
   
   
2. The Business Community. They lobbied aggressively to use some of the surplus for tax cuts, but to no avail. The final package did include retention of an already legislated reduction in the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax rate. At the same time, the new budget reduced funding for many programs in the Department of Community and Economic Development to spur business location and development.
   
   
3. Some school districts. While school districts cited earlier will see their state aid rise above the overall 3% increase, mathematical formulas suggest some will receive less than 3% for this to occur. Indeed, that's the case. A floor of 2% is in the budget for 128 school districts.
   
   
4. Medical assistance recipients. In spite of a major funding increase, medical assistance recipients actually will receive fewer benefits overall because costs are growing even faster. It could have been worse. The reductions in benefits are less than in the Governor's original proposal.
   
   
5. Speeders. The legislature succeeded in adding extra funds to the budget to hire more State Police troopers. It's assumed many of them will arrive for work equipped with new radar guns.

The "big picture:" Is there a winner-loser pattern?

There doesn't appear to be. The Governor and the legislature aren't steering the state's spending blueprint in new policy directions because, as in the past, changes in the 2005-06 budget are incremental. Could it be that the winners and losers come about as a result of a process that has less to do with public policy alternatives and decision-making with an eye toward the future - and more to do with behind-the-scenes negotiations and politics? IssuesPA has an inkling about which is more likely.