It isn’ often that the Commonwealth is awash in cash, but as legislators are in the process of hammering out a 2023-24 budget, this is precisely the happy prospect that they are enjoying.

It brings up the perennial question when something like this happens: Should it be spent on programs to help state residents, programs that might have suffered in leaner years, or do we salt it away for a rainy day?

I have a better idea: Why don’t we give some of it back to taxpayers, even if in terms of dollars-and-cents it might smack of merely a goodwill gesture.

Our state legislators might take a page from the Panther Valley School District playbook. The district’s school board recently passed a budget that gives a “slight” real estate tax break to the taxpayers in Coaldale, Lansford, Nesquehoning and Summit Hill.

It only amounts to a few dollars for most taxpayers, but it is an acknowledgment that, “Hey, we feel your pain, and here is a little break to let you know that we’re thinking of you.”

Until about two weeks ago, most state legislators were pretty confident that the budget proposed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro had broad-based support, even from many Republicans, but after the members of the Democratic-controlled House saw the growing surplus in the state’s coffers, they figured it was a good time to initiate or expand programs.

The Democrats, who have a razor thin majority in the state House of Representatives (102-101), passed a budget along party lines that has about $1 billion more than Shapiro originally proposed at $45.9 billion.

Along with Shapiro, the leadership of both parties in both houses of the General Assembly have been locked in secret negotiations, but there is no question that the House Democrats’ action has angered Republicans and has added a new wrinkle to the negotiations. Budgets in Pennsylvania run from July 1-June 30, so once again legislators will be facing the eleventh hour efforts to nail down a budget by the June 30 deadline. Even if they do not have an agreement in place by then, the state has a little wiggle room before it runs out of money, so while there is some urgency, it is not dire, at least not at the moment.

House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, accused the Democrats of breaking ranks with Shapiro by replacing his budget with a “bloated spending plan that reflects their unilateral priorities.” Cutler also called it “gross mismanagement and a lack of transparency and the kind of sneak-attack politics that the public abhors.”

The modified budget bill faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled state Senate.

Many Republicans share the view of Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, who called the Democrats’ budget “irresponsible.” He said their proposed 14% increase over the current year’s budget is “unsustainable” and predicted that it will require “massive tax increases” that will deplete the $5 billion Rainy Day Fund which he said Republicans have fought to build over the years.

In four of the last six months, revenue outpaced estimates by $400 million in each of those months. This prompted Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity to announce that we can thank this healthy ledger balance in part to high interest rates because of the Fed’s monetary policies. The state’s investment income this year, she said, will likely exceed previous estimates by $432 million. At the same time, Garrity recommended that the windfall go into the Rainy Day Fund.

So we come back to my original question: Do we spend the surplus on additional programs, or do we squirrel it away for leaner times?

Do any legislators believe as I do: “Wow! Can you believe we have all of this unassigned cash for a change? Why don’t we do something nice for our taxpayers by giving some of it back - not all of it - but some of it? Let’s do a ‘Panther Valley’ to show taxpayers we acknowledge their struggles and care about them.

By BRUCE FRASSINELLI| tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.