Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday proposed a 2018-19 budget with a $1.2 billion increase in spending, a natural gas severance tax and increased funding for education.

Among his proposals were an increase of $225 million to public education, including $50 million for career and technical education, and money for education, prevention and treatment to continue fighting the opioid crisis. The proposed general fund budget is $32.9 billion.

In his address Tuesday before both houses of the Legislature, Wolf emphasized investing in career training programs that would put people into well-paying careers.

“Anyone in our state who's willing to put in an honest day's work deserves a shot to make a good living,” he said.

In making his case for an extraction tax, something Wolf has proposed in the past, he said oil and gas-producing states like Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska all have similar levies.

“Let's understand exactly what a severance tax is. It's a tax paid by people mostly outside of Pennsylvania to use our natural resources,” he said.

A source of new jobs in the state could be Amazon, which has listed Pittsburgh and Philadelphia among the final 20 cities in North America being considered for a new headquarters.

They are likely to pick a state that is investing in education, infrastructure and job training, Wolf said.

Republican leadership from the state House of Representatives and Senate responded Tuesday, saying the proposal was a good starting point, but the $250 million Marcellus Shale tax was a concern.

Several elected representatives for Butler County said Tuesday they were looking forward to working with the governor on a responsible budget. None of the Butler County legislators offered support for a severance tax.

State Rep. Tedd Nesbit, R-8th, in a statement said he is optimistic about the budget process and he believes the governor set a more positive tone than in past years.

Nesbitt said he disagrees with Wolf's proposal for a severance tax and also would oppose a fee for municipalities that receive state police protection.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, said in an interview Tuesday he opposes increasing spending and adding new taxes or fees that would hurt businesses and residents.

“It's more of the same liberal tax and spend messaging that we've heard from Tom Wolf for the last three years. He thinks the government can do a better job spending people's money than they can,” Metcalfe said.

He said a severance tax would hurt the Marcellus shale industry and a fee for state police protection would be akin to charging residents twice for the same service.

Metcalfe said lawmakers should attract companies like Amazon through policy and a favorable regulatory structure, not tax incentives.

Businesses such as Penn United in Jefferson Township, Austin Bleach in Adams Township and Adams Manufacturing in Portersville have been in the area for decades and provided well-paying jobs, he said.

“I think whatever we do to try and attract businesses from outside the state, we should make sure that policy is applied consistently across our tax structure and regulatory structure so our longtime businesses also feel relief,” he said.

The House's State Government Committee is doing just that, he said. The committee met Tuesday morning and voted in favor of a package of five bills intended to rein in regulations and encourage entrepreneurs to start businesses.

Among them was State Bill 1960, introduced by State Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th, which would require state agencies to appoint a regulatory compliance officer. The compliance officer's job would be to explain regulations, work with businesses and resolve noncompliance issues before imposing penalties, according to a memo written by Ellis.

State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-10th, said he agrees that career and technical training is extremely important, but adding taxes on businesses would hurt job growth.

“An additional tax on drilling here in would significantly impact Pennsylvania. It would be disincentivizing those employers to hire workers,” he said.

The state should try and create an environment conducive to job growth, he said.

“The biggest thing the government needs to do is get out of the way and let organizations flourish,” he said.

Ellis, who is chairman of the House's Commerce Committee, said growing the state's economy and opposing tax increases are his top priorities. Free enterprise is the strongest anti-poverty measure, he said in a news release.

“I am supportive of welfare reform measures that would give more Pennsylvania families an opportunity to improve their quality of life,” he said.

State Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14th, said in a statement that a decrease in education funding four years ago was because of a loss of federal stimulus money, not a state budget cut, like the governor said Tuesday.

Committing to workforce development and job training are positives from the address, he said.

State Rep. R. Lee James, R-64th, in a video posted to his Facebook page Tuesday said a final budget should be ready by the end of May. James was appointed to the House's appropriation's committee for this year.

“There's a few holes in the budget and we will be trying to plug those,” he said, adding that funding to the state's Heritage Areas was cut by 6 percent.

State Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-60th, in an audio clip said the budgeting process is just getting started.

“Over the next three months we're going to hear from all the governor's departments on their spending priorities and we'll go from there,” he said.

State Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, speaking in a video recorded at the capitol building, said he was pleased to see the governor make a more modest budget proposal, but the state is still spending faster than the rate of inflation.

“I am pleased that there is a new focus on career and technical education as well as job partnerships to help people improve themselves, to get the kind of jobs that are available today. Apprenticeships are a great way to train our young people and so I am happy to see that,” he said.

State Sen. Don White, R-41st, in a statement credited President Donald Trump's policies in creating a favorable economic climate. The commonwealth is projected to end the year in the black, White said.

More funding for education and apprenticeship programs would be a positive, he said.

“I am extremely pleased that the governor is proposing a $15 million increase in state funding for the State System of Higher Education,” he said.

State Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, in a statement said he was pleased to see the agricultural budget has not been “cut to the extremes” like in recent years, though there are still some areas that need to be restored.

Like many of his fellow Republicans, Vogel said the severance tax would likely cause a loss of jobs in Western Pennsylvania.

“Jobs and livelihoods depend on the natural gas sector. We should not pass another tax that will chase them away,” he said.