The 2016-17 state budget, approved by Gov. Tom Wolf July 13 featured no shades of last year’s infamous gridlock that paralyzed the state for nearly nine months.

There, of course, were many compromises and controversies.

The $31.6 billion budget includes a 5-percent increase from last year.

This is in part due to mandatory payments for pension and corrections systems as well as Medicaid.

The $1.5-billion increase marks the largest in the state’s budget since 2006.

The finalized budget plan cuts roughly $2 billion from the original plan Wolf proposed in February.

Despite this reduction, the state still needs to raise more than $1.28 billion in new revenue to cover the increase.

The additional funds will be obtained through the sale of alcohol in grocery stores, increased taxes on tobacco, expanding gaming and expanding the sales tax to include digital downloads, effective Aug. 1.

School districts will also reap the benefits of this new budget, receiving $200 million to fund basic education and a total of $50 million more for special education, prekindergarten and Head Start programs.

This marks a win for Wolf, who championed the expansion of education from the outset of his term.

Parkland School District Superintendent Richard Sniscak commented on the spending plan via email to The Press.

“Pennsylvania finally has a completed and balanced 2016-17 state budget,” Sniscak wrote. “Both the House and the Senate passed a revenue bill, a School Code bill and a Fiscal Code bill.

“As a result, the district is estimating a 2016-17 Basic Education Funding increase for Parkland in the amount of $537,446.

“This dollar amount is $337,446 more than Parkland had planned to receive when it created the final budget for adoption in June.

Sniscak also stated the 2016-17 Special Education Funding for Parkland is projected to be $46,880 more than what was budgeted.

“Finally, the 2016-17 Ready to Learn Block Grant funds for Parkland is projected to be level funded,” Sniscak wrote. “Parkland did not budget for an increase in this area, but rather planned for level funding.

“Therefore, the total increase in funding over what the district had planned for is estimated to be $384,326.

Some $15 million will be spent to combat the state’s addiction crisis, another core value of Wolf’s tenure.

Though the streamlined process has undeniably prevented another wave of apprehension that dominated last year, reactions have been mixed toward the new budget.

State Rep. Julie Harhart, R-183rd, was generally pleased.

“This budget may not be as “lean” as I would have perhaps wanted, but with any large undertaking, there were needed compromises along the way,” she stated in a recent press release. “I am pleased we were able to significantly reduce the amount of money the governor originally wanted to spend and were able to take any broad-based taxes off the table.”

State Rep. Justin Simmons, R-131st, was initially in favor of the budget.

However, he wound up voting against it, citing that the revenue package presented to the House of Representatives was different than what was agreed upon during the vote.

“[The budget] makes significant changes to how Pennsylvania has always treated the business community in its role as our partners in tax collection by eliminating the vendor discount on collected sales tax. It unfairly targets smaller community banks – a group that is key to the continued growth of entrepreneurship in our state and new jobs in our communities.

“The package also relies on unwise borrowing to fund spending, and I believe that is not a responsible path. These are just some examples of items that changed from the original revenue proposal, and that forced me to vote no.”