The first-year Governor vetoed a stopgap budget proposed by the GOP on Tuesday, after Republicans in the House and Senate worked for several weeks to put it on his desk.
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“Despite the fact that the majority of hard-working Pennsylvanians can not afford Gov. Wolf’s massive tax and spending plans, he continues to push for them”, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) said.
Gov. Tom Wolf and legislative leaders met on and off throughout the day Monday in an effort to craft a compromise to end the Pennsylvania state budget impasse, but no breakthroughs surfaced.
The first-term Democrat defended his veto as a choice between a sound, long-term fiscal path and a series of flawed, Washington, D.C.-style short-term fixes that neglect schools and deepen a deficit.
Appearing on Pittsburgh sister station KDKA Tuesday, Governor Wolf said he believes many Republican lawmakers want a real budget and that the only thing standing in the way is GOP leadership.
Wolf wants a multibillion-dollar tax increase to wipe out Republican funding cuts for schools and human services and to eliminate a long-term budget deficit.
In a press conference Wednesday, House Majority Leader Dave Reed and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman said they will allow a vote next week on Gov. Wolf’s proposals to raise the sales and personal income taxes – if only to show the administration there is no support for them.
“While we are greatly upset by the governor’s latest rejection, we remain ready to talk further and ultimately pass a fiscally responsible budget for the citizens of Pennsylvania”, they said.
One Republican who has been approached, Rep. Nicholas Miccarelli of Delaware County, said he supports the imposition of a severance tax but not necessarily an increase in the personal income tax. While Wolf is confident he can find enough votes to force his plans through, several more weeks could be wasted if the bills fail.
Reed said there is no support for raising broad-based taxes such as the personal income tax unless every single dollar raised is dedicated to reducing property taxes.
A spokesman for the administration said in an e-mail that the governor “hopes to continue having conversations” with Republican lawmakers. Republicans want to privatize the sale of wine and liquor and revamp the state’s public pensions to reduce future costs. Reed referred to an early September proposal offered by Wolf during private budget negotiations.
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Wolf has argued the tax increases he seeks are needed to fully fund new investments in public education that Democrats say are sorely needed after Corbett-era cuts. “I understand we have divided government”.
