Highlights of the governor’s second proposal

Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing several new taxes to raise an estimated $2.7 billion in new revenues. Among them:

Boosting the personal income tax rate from 3.07 percent to 3.4 percent; this would yield an estimated $1.36 billion for the state next fiscal year

Applying the sales tax to basic cable television, movie theater tickets and digital downloads and limit a vendor discount, bringing in an estimated $414 million

Enacting a severance tax of 6.5 percent on the extraction of natural gas, raising an estimated $217 million

Adding $1 per pack to the cigarette tax, generating an estimated $468 million, and taxing the wholesale price of other tobacco products, generating an estimated $136 million

The governor’s budget proposal would make big increases to education spending. Mr. Wolf proposes:

Adding $377 million in the current fiscal year to the main funding line for K-12 education, then adding $200 million to the basic education subsidy for the fiscal year that begins July 1

A $60 million increase this year for early childhood education, and a $60 million increase next year

Adding $50 million in special education funding for next fiscal year on top of additional funding he is still seeking for the current year

Five percent increases in the current fiscal year and next fiscal year for community colleges, the universities of the State System of Higher Education and the state-related universities, which include the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University

Other major initiatives included in Tuesday’s proposal:

An increase in the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.15 an hour

Mr. Wolf is proposing a $32.7 billion general fund budget. A number of spending items have large mandated increases, such as: $100 million in debt obligations $800 million in human service costs $500 million in pension costs $178 million in corrections costs