Pa. Assembly Cash Reserve Hits Record as Spending Fell Last Year

(File Photo)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A  new report shows a decline in the annual spending by the Pennsylvania Legislature and that lawmakers’ cash reserves are at a record high. The Legislative Audit Advisory Commission found that the General Assembly’s costs dropped by some $12 million in the year that ended in June. Lawmakers’ cash reserves rose to $233 million, breaking a record set in 2006. The budget reserve had also grown, by $28 million, during the 2019-20 year. Spending last year on legislative personnel, by far the General Assembly’s largest category, declined by $7.5 million to nearly $321 million. Pennsylvania has one of the country’s largest legislative staffs.