The Commonwealth collected $4.42 billion in General Fund revenues for March, a decrease of $64.5 million (-1.4%) compared to March 2016. Fiscal year-to-date revenues were $22.39 billion, an increase of $153.9 million (0.7%) from the prior year.
Act 7 of 2016 requires the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) to provide technical assistance to the Joint State Government Commission (JSGC) for a study related to various aspects of the Pennsylvania horse racing industry. The IFO agreed to provide analysis and text necessary to address the statutory requirement that the report include “a determination of the economic return to the Commonwealth, racetrack operators, horsemen, breeders and other stakeholders on the investment of gaming assessments collected under the act of July 5, 2004 (P.L.572, No.71).”
This report is the IFO's submission to the JSGC in fulfillment of this requirement.
Note: Tables D and I (pages 8 and 21) and supporting text were updated since the original publication. (Revised March 13, 2017)
Letter to Rep. Stephens in response to questions regarding the IFO analysis. (March 28, 2017)
The IFO responds to a request regarding the impact of Philadelphia’s local cigarette and beverage taxes on state revenue collections.
The letter has been revised to include current footnotes 3 and 6, which provide additional context for the assumptions used by the analysis. (Revised on March 20, 2017)
The IFO provided additional information to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee in response to requests made at its recent budget hearing.
The IFO provided additional information to members of the House Appropriations Committee in response to requests made at its recent budget hearing.
Pursuant to section 604-B(a)(8) of the Administrative Code of 1929, the Independent Fiscal Office has prepared a cost analysis of the collective bargaining agreements between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the following unions:
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Independent State Stores Union (ISSU)
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Pennsylvania Social Services Union (PSSU), Hearing Officers
This report for the fourth quarter of 2016 and the calendar year uses data collected by the PA Department of Environmental Protection to develop statewide and county-level tabulations of production volume and well counts.
The Commonwealth collected $1.88 billion in General Fund revenues for February, an increase of $20.6 million (1.1%) compared to February 2016. Fiscal year-to-date revenues were $17.97 billion, an increase of $218.3 million (1.2%) from the prior year.
Director Matthew Knittel provided a budget and economic update to the Fifth Annual Economic Forecast Summit sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chamber Educational Foundation and the Pennsylvania Bankers Association.
At the request of the General Assembly, the IFO has published a performance measurement report for the Department of Corrections (DOC) in advance of the agency’s budget hearings. The report includes agency cost-drivers, performance metrics and multi-state comparisons.
The DOC report arises from the IFO’s 2016 report, “Using Performance Measures in the State Budget,” in which the office outlined options for performance measurement and provided a prototype report that could be integrated into the state budget process and utilized during annual budget hearings.