The large budget deficit is not getting any smaller in Pennsylvania, as lawmakers search for a few way out of the continuing debt.
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The governor, meanwhile, said he’s willing to have a “conversation” about expansion of gambling, something raised by Republican legislative leaders after last week’s tax vote, but Wolf says it won’t solve the state’s budget problems.
Initial proposals for licensing fees start at $5 million, while tax rates for online gambling revenue fall between 14 percent and 59 percent, but Payne said the figures are still subject to change.
A sure sign that things are going nowhere fast on the budget impasse in Harrisburg is a few legislators are now talking about a gambling expansion to generate more state revenue.
“I think we need to have a discussion first on what other revenues are on the table”, Reed said. A conclusion needs to be made on reform of liquor and cost drivers such as the pension system needs to be discussed, as well as looking at gaming.
Pennsylvania state government has been in a partial shutdown for more than 100 days as the Republican-controlled Legislature resists Wolf’s request for a multibillion-dollar tax increase that the first-term Democrat says is necessary to resolve the state government’s budget deficit and begin correcting steep disparities in public school funding.
“I’m one of 12.7 million Pennsylvanians, and we’ve got to have our state on a sound financial basis”, Wolf said.
“I can’t cave on this”, Wolf said.
When the last round of direct talks was suspended two weeks ago for failed stopgap financing efforts, the two sides had narrowed their spending differences to about $600 million, with the Wolf Administration at $31.2 billion and GOP leaders at $30.6 billion.
Online games will be opened to players physically in Pennsylvania, with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board overseeing the new gambling operations, Kotik noted.
There is the prospect of Internet gambling, which is legal only in Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada.
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As each week goes by, more lawmakers in both parties are starting to feel the pressures from local school districts running out of cash, and temporary suspensions of certain social service programs. The bill by Ward would also include allowing casinos to provide station slot machines at betting parlors at the race tracks. But now with massive increases in taxes plus the partial shutdown of the state government, Scarnati believes the perspective of online gambling should change.
