Harrisburg Think Tank to Host Pennsylvania Budget Summit

Teaser: 

February 19, 2013

The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will host a daylong Budget Summit on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at the Hilton Harrisburg. Policy experts will provide an in-depth look at the Governor's proposed budget, the latest on the federal budget, and what it all means for communities and families across Pennsylvania.

Members of the media interested in covering the Budget Summit should RSVP to: lilienthal@pennbpc.org

HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will host a daylong Budget Summit on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at the Hilton Harrisburg. The event is open to the public, and media coverage is invited. Members of the media should RSVP to lilienthal@pennbpc.org.

Policy experts will provide an in-depth look at the Governor's proposed budget, the latest on the federal budget, and what it all means for communities and families across Pennsylvania. A bipartisan panel of state legislators will debate the Governor's proposal, and workshop sessions will take on the big issues that will shape this budget, including the impact of expanding Medicaid health coverage, school funding and charter reform, pensions, the future of human services, and the impact of federal policy decisions.

When: Thursday, February 21, 2013, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Where: Hilton Harrisburg, 1 North Second Street, Harrisburg

Summit Agenda: The following sessions and workshops are open to the media:

9:00-10:00

A Look at the Governor's 2013-14 Proposed Budget (Pennsylvania Ballroom)
Michael Wood and Sharon Ward, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center

10:00-11:00

The View from the Legislature (Pennsylvania Ballroom)
Representative Todd Stephens
Representative Mike Sturla
Senator Jay Costa

11:15-12:30

Breakout Sessions

A) Educating Children for the New Economy: Education Policy in 2013 (Metropolitan C)
Moderator: Ron Cowell, The Education Policy and Leadership Center
Representative Michael Fleck
Dr. David Brown, West Chester University
Susan Gobreski, Education Voters of Pennsylvania

B) Do Taxes Matter? Building a Fair Tax System in Pennsylvania (The New Governor Boardroom)
Moderator: Sharon Ward, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First
Rebecca McNichol, CLEAR Coalition

C) Cover the Commonwealth: What a Medicaid Expansion Means for Pennsylvania (Metropolitan A)
Moderator: Richard Weishaupt, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
Jesse Cross-Call, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Paula Bussard, The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania
Antoinette Kraus, Pennsylvania Health Access Network

12:30-2:00

Lunch and Presentations (Pennsylvania Ballroom)

A) Keynote Address: Selling Snake Oil to the States: ALEC’s Economic Agenda for the States
Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First

B) Federal Budget Update
Joan Huffer, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

2:00-3:00

Breakout Sessions

A) The Great Tax Shift: How State Fiscal Policies Affect Local Governments and Local Taxpayers (The New Governor Boardroom)
Moderator: Alan Jennings, Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley
Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick
Dr. Thomas R. Hensley, Southern York County School District
Lawrence Feinberg, Keystone State Education Coalition

B) Pensions and the 2013 Budget (Metropolitan C)
Moderator: Michael Wood, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
Dr. Stephen Herzenberg, Keystone Research Center
David Fillman, AFSCME District Council 13
Dr. Monique Morrissey, Economic Policy Institute

C) What’s Next for Human Services: Block Grants and Diminishing Resources (Metropolitan A)
Moderator: Stephen Drachler, United Methodist Advocacy in Pennsylvania
Beth Balaban, Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee
John Denny, Campaign for What Works
Sue Walther, Mental Health Association of Pennsylvania
Cindy Daley, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania
Joan Huffer, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities