Budget hearings got underway in Harrisburg yesterday, with plenty of scrutiny on the governor's seventh and penultimate budget proposal.

One agency that will be excluded from the annual transparency exercise? The Pennsylvania State Police, Spotlight PA reports, shielding the department from lawmakers who have used the forum in the past to question officials and hold them accountable. It's an especially glaring departure in a year marked by growing calls for police accountability and reform. 

“To not have them come before us during this critical time in our country and state is a missed opportunity,” said state Rep. Donna Bullock (D., Philadelphia), who sits on the House Appropriations Committee and is chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.

THE CONTEXT: Neal Lesher, spokesperson for the House Appropriations Committee, called the police budget straightforward and said the decision not to hold a hearing was in the interest of saving time. 

But state police funding streams — including the Motor License Fund that covers costs and salaries and a coverage fee proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf — remain the subject of much debate in Harrisburg, with plenty of questions still unanswered and the agency facing chronic funding issues exacerbated by the dissolution of small, municipal departments. 

Meanwhile, Wolf's proposed income tax hike on higher-bracket earners — one meant to shore up funding for public schools and offset deep pandemic revenue losses — is drawing plenty of pushback from Republicans who question the constitutionality and wisdom of the plan, per the Associated Press. Democrats, on the other hand, argue there's no time to waste. 

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