Lehigh Times

State Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) took to social media Feb. 8 to criticize Gov. Tom Wolf's state budget address.

Wolf, a Democrat, proposed a $45.7 billion 2022-23 state budget that would increase general fund spending by $4.5 billion, according to Sen. Dan Laughlin's (R-Erie County) website.

“The governor’s revenue and spending projections over the next several years are unrealistic, do not align with traditional rates of growth and will make worse our existing structural imbalance,” Browne said in the February tweet.

Wolf's proposed plan includes early education, generational investments in K-12 schools, and continuing to transform higher education, according to the governor's website.

“These are days of opportunity for our commonwealth,” Wolf said, according to the website. “That’s because, at long last, our fiscal house is in order. Over the past seven years, we’ve turned a $2 billion to $3 billion structural budget deficit into a $2 billion to $3 billion budget surplus. We’ve built our rainy day fund to more than $2.8 billion—more than 12,000 times what it was when I took office.”

Wolf said he aims to make Pennsylvania the best place to work, introduce criminal justice reform, improve public safety and support the health and quality of life for vulnerable populations, according to the Laughlin's website.

“We are no longer digging out of a hole," Wolf said, according to the governor's website. "We’re ready to build. And this year’s budget does exactly that, by making new investments that will build a brighter future for Pennsylvania families."

The Senate will hold a series of public hearings over the coming weeks to review the spending plan and produce a more responsible budget proposal, according to Laughlin's website.

Browne has served in the state Senate since 2014, representing the 16th District of Pennsylvania. He is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee for the 2021-2022 legislative session.