Gov. Tom Wolf is blaming House Republican leaders for Pennsylvania state government’s almost record-long budget stalemate ahead of another battle over what kind of spending plan the GOP-controlled House of Representatives will support.
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A state budget agreement is one step from the governor’s desk, after a series of parliamentary moves in the House positioned a $30.8 billion spending plan for a final vote Wednesday.
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After Saturday’s failed vote on a state pension reform bill, a key piece of a proposed budget compromise, House Republicans have switched gears and will look to pass a short-term stopgap spending plan for 2015-16.
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Pennsylvania is one of just two states – along with IL – still fighting over a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.
Meanwhile, the deal calls for a $1 billion-plus tax increase, and Senate Republicans have clashed with House members over whether to raise taxes on income or sales. Senate Republicans, however, have tied its passage to their support for increases in taxes and spending.
Conservative groups who oppose tax increases in the state have criticized the $30.8 billion budget. 19 moderate Republicans joined 81 Democrats to work toward passing a budget package before leaving for the holidays.
Jeffrey Sheridan, spokesman for Mr. Wolf, announced the governor’s intention to veto a partial-year budget in a written statement.
It passed on a near party-line vote, 33-17.
Wolf said Friday that he had obtained enough votes to get the taxes through the House, but the pension bill’s defeat pre-empted a tax vote.
Wiley said he had “more frustration than words” over the budget process.
How will lawmakers vote to pay for the budget’s six percent spending increase over previous year?
House Republican leaders, alas, seem to be playing the parts of the Scarecrow (“If I only had a brain, I’d not keep scuttling deals that would get this done”) and the Lion (“If I only had some nerve, I’d at least permit a vote on the deal that passes muster with the Senate and the governor”).
The spending bill passed the Republican-controlled Senate two weeks ago. Republicans said it is the only way to give Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf a bill that can end a 6-month-old stalemate before Christmas and speed money to school districts and social service agencies.
This budget spends over $3.5 billion less than the Governor originally wanted (in his original March proposal) and $600 million less than what had been on the table (from November’s framework agreement). Senate GOP leaders indicated they want action on a bill to reduce pension benefits for future state government and school district employees before they show the tax bill.
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“It was over a trillion dollars, it was all lumped together, 2,242 pages, nobody read it, so frankly my biggest complaint is that I have no idea what kind of things they stuck in that bill in the middle of the night”, Senator Paul, R-Ky., said.
