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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep.
Nick Kotik |
  
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Kotik calls for special session to address budget shorfalls
HARRISBURG, Oct. 14 – State Rep. Nick Kotik, D-Allegheny, announced today he is calling on the governor to convene a special session before Jan. 1 to address the reported deficits in the state budget.
Kotik said the request is in response to decreasing state revenue during the first quarter of the 2008-09 fiscal year. According to the state Department of Revenue, revenue collections from July through September are $281.4 million, or 4.7 percent lower than expected.
"With the national economy at the lowest point it's been in decades, our state economy is also experiencing a downward trend," Kotik said. "As state lawmakers, it is our duty to protect the people of our districts and this includes their financial future.
"We need to sit down and take a serious look at what the rest of this fiscal year may hold and take measures now to prepare for more shortfalls in the budget if they become a reality. The gap in revenue collections creates a gap in the General Fund of the budget, and if the gap continues to grow we need to take a profound look at our situation and determine if some difficult decisions need to be made."
Revenue from the General Fund provides nearly half of the money to make up the state's $62 billion operating budget. Kotik said the majority of that money funds education, medical assistance, corrections and human services programs.
"We are facing what could be one of the largest deficits in state funds in 30 years. This special session would address what's happened in the last three months and what we can do in the next nine months," Kotik said. "I cannot stress enough the urgency of this matter and the importance of the legislature returning to Harrisburg for a special session before the new year."
Gov. Ed Rendell signed a $28.3 billion budget into law in July for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which will end June 30, 2009.
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