Pennsylvania’s state treasurer Thursday authorized a short-term $750 million line of credit to keep the state’s general fund from dipping into negative territory.
Treasurer Joe Torsella says the state hasn’t had to borrow that much so early in the fiscal year in 25 years.
“The necessity to step in and financially prop up the General Fund just six weeks into the fiscal year is extraordinary and without precedent,” said Torsella in a statement. “Cash flow borrowing this early and of this magnitude has not happened in the last 25 years. As a state, we once again find ourselves in uncharted waters, not only having to borrow so early in the fiscal year, but doing so with an underlying General Fund Budget that is not yet balanced.”
Torsella, a Democrat who took office in January, is urging legislators to “pass a responsible revenue package.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pa. may be in running for investment from Apple supplier Foxconn
A week after Apple supplier Foxconn announced plans to build its first-ever U.S. plant in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania still may be in the mix for a possible investment, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Thursday.
“I think they are interested in not just the Wisconsin location but in looking at other areas across the U.S.,” he said. “Pennsylvania is well positioned to be competitive in that process.”
The Taiwanese electronics giant selected Wisconsin over a half dozen other states, including Pennsylvania, to build a $10 billion plant to produce liquid-crystal display panels used in televisions and computer screens.
To lure the firm, Wisconsin offered up to $3 billion in cash payments over 15 years if the plant reaches an upper goal of 13,000 workers. Gov. Scott Walker has said that at least one other state offered more in a failed bid to get the facility.
ABC 27: Pennsylvania plan to track student performance released
Pennsylvania has unveiled a new plan to track the performance of its 1.7 million students that includes a broader measurement of academic success.
The state Department of Education released a draft of the proposal Wednesday that conforms to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the law was passed in 2015 to replace the No Child Left Behind law, which critics said focused too much on standardized testing.
The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to submit plans on how to measure student performance.
The new Pennsylvania plan provides students with a holistic education, moving schools away from focusing primarily on English, math and science, said Matthew Stem, a deputy secretary at the department.
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