A flurry of crucial votes is on tap in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers scramble to end a state government budget stalemate now in its sixth month.
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On Thursday, Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai signed off on a $30.3 billion budget bill that was passed by the Senate on Wednesday. But House Republicans revolted against the size of the tax and spending bills.
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This budget bill stands alone with none of the necessary tax, fiscal code and school code bills that support it. The Senate used a parliamentary move to advance this measure similar to a budget bill passed by the GOP-controlled House two weeks ago.
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Senate GOP leaders, meanwhile, are insisting on the House’s passage of a plan to overhaul state pension benefits before senators vote on tax increases.
House GOP members were against raising taxes, which is what the $30.8 budget framework would have had to do. There, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is pushing for curbs to public-sector unions as a condition to raise taxes to meet a projected $5 billion budget shortfall. The bill passed on a near party-line vote, 33-17. “We’re not going to pass legislation based on rumors and innuendos”, said Steve Miskin, a spokesman for the House Republican caucus.
“We can’t send a budget bill to the governor without a tax code bill to pay for it”, Reed said.
“When will obstinate partisans in the legislature – Democrat and Republican – come to understand there are no political victories to gain in this perpetual budget impasse, only continued pain for every taxpayer whose exhausted of a state government that doesn’t work for them anymore?” asked state Sen.
Wolf called the Senate’s move “deeply disappointing”, and said “the Senate has caved to those same House leaders and extreme interests to continue the failed status quo and harm our schools and children by denying them these critical additional funds”.
Our Capitol colleague Wallace McKelvey schlepped out to Easton on Monday for the “Porngate” disciplinary hearing for state Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin.
The state House on Wednesday had been expected to consider a vote on the Wolf-supported budget plan, which had already been approved by the Senate.
Like Dorothy, our poor state budget is wandering in search of its home. A vote on those taxes had been planned for Saturday but was scuttled after the pension bill was overwhelmingly defeated. Nonetheless, he voted against the bill because he said it contained “unacceptable” provisions weakening oversight of government surveillance.
Wolf says he has enough votes to pass a 6 percent spending increase the House has previously voted down.
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“I want to know how many of those legislators who said they wouldn’t take their paychecks until the budget was done have taken them?” she said. The legislation would create a mandatory 401(k)-style benefit for future state government and public school hires.
