Pittsburgh Review

Pennsylvania Senator Camera Bartolotta (R-Harrisburg) wants the Taxpayer Protection Act now more than ever with a new bill that will provide spending limitations for the government.

Posting an Op-Ed in The Post Gazette, Bartolotta says the new legislation does not make any cuts to government spending, but it does provide guide rails.

'"We can do better, which is why I am sponsoring Senate Bill 286, known as the Taxpayer Protection Act," Bartolotta said in her Op-Ed. "It is designed to ensure government does not grow faster than families’ ability to pay for it. These measures are needed now more than ever as many families struggle to meet the financial hardship caused by the pandemic. This is about treating your wages with respect."

Bartolotta says Gov. Tom Wolf's (D-PA) budget is fantasy.

"All the increases Gov. Wolf wants to enact now would become the taxpayers’ problem for years to come," Bartolotta said in a Feb. 13 Tweet. "We do not have the liberty to create a fantasy budget."'

Bartolotta isn't the only one complaining. Pennsylvania Sen. Dan Laughlin says Wolf's budget proposal is “sheer fantasy”.

“While I appreciate Gov. Tom Wolf’s spending plan for the coming fiscal year is only a proposal that will be the subject of discussion and negotiation during the next several months," Laughlin said, in a press release issued by their office. "I can’t believe a governor who sets himself up as a champion of education would eliminate the funding for an important higher education institution in northern Pennsylvania, which includes some of the poorest regions in the country. Gov. Wolf zeroes out the funding of the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College (NPRC), an institution that offers a convenient, affordable and needed college opportunity for students throughout our northern Pennsylvania communities.”

Bartolotta has taken the opportunity to highlight her legislation, an amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which leverages spending limitations based on inflation and the growth of the population.

"Hardworking Pennsylvanians across the commonwealth are waiting to see reforms like this put into place," Bartolotta said, according to The Post-Gazette. "I have heard from numerous people time and time again who share their frustration with high taxes and increasing state debt. The only way to bring our budgetary Groundhog Day to a close and get our fiscal calendar to turn to that figurative Feb. 3 is to flip the script immediately — by taking the first steps toward enacting a strong Taxpayer Protection Act."