PRINTER'S NO. 403
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.429
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY CIRESI, PROBST, HILL-EVANS, FREEMAN, KENYATTA,
OTTEN, MERSKI, GIRAL, SANCHEZ, D. WILLIAMS, CERRATO AND
GREEN, JANUARY 31, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 31, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection , for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
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33 every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
Commonwealth," in special funds, further providing for
disposition of Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund; and making
interfund transfers.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1703-A of the act of April 9, 1929
(P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended to read:
Section 1703-A. Disposition of Budget Stabilization Reserve
Fund.
(a) Purpose.--[It] Except as otherwise provided in
subsection (d), it is the intent of the General Assembly that:
(1) Money from the Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund be
appropriated only when emergencies involving the health,
safety or welfare of the residents of this Commonwealth or
downturns in the economy resulting in significant
unanticipated revenue shortfalls cannot be dealt with through
the normal budget process.
(2) Money in the Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund shall
not be used to begin new programs but to provide for the
continuation of vital public programs in danger of being
eliminated or severely reduced due to financial problems
resulting from the economy.
(b) Appropriation.--Except as provided under subsection (c)
or (d), whenever the Governor determines that an appropriation
from the Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund is necessary to meet
emergencies involving the health, safety or welfare of the
residents of this Commonwealth or to counterbalance downturns of
the economy which result in significant unanticipated revenue
shortfalls, the Governor shall present a request for an
appropriation which may include the specifics of the proposal
and suggested ancillary and substantive legislation as may be
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32 necessary to the chairman of Appropriations Committee of the
Senate and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the
House of Representatives. The General Assembly may then through
approval of a separate appropriation bill by a vote of two-
thirds of the members elected to the Senate and the House of
Representatives appropriate money from the Budget Stabilization
Reserve Fund to meet the needs identified in the Governor's
proposal. Any money appropriated according to this section which
has then lapsed shall be returned to the Budget Stabilization
Reserve Fund.
(c) Transfer.--No later than November 30, 2020, $100,000,000
shall be transferred from the Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund
to the General Fund and shall be available for appropriation by
the General Assembly.
(d) Transfers for pension liabilities.--No later than
January 1, 2026:
(1) $670,000,000 shall be transferred from the Budget
Stabilization Reserve Fund to the Public School Employees'
Retirement Fund as a one-time supplemental transfer for the
purpose of reducing the unfunded actuarial accrued liability
of the Public School Employees' Retirement System.
(2) $330,000,000 shall be transferred from the Budget
Stabilization Reserve Fund to the State Employees' Retirement
Fund as a one-time supplemental transfer for the purpose of
reducing the unfunded actuarial accrued liability of the
State Employees' Retirement System.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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