Another lengthy stalemate over tax hikes came in 1977 with a general budget bill not being approved until late August. Lawmakers are rushing to approve a bipartisan budget before Christmas.
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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”).
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Though Pelosi was opposing the tax measure, Democrats were divided over the overall budget deal. Senate Republicans, however, have tied its passage to their support for increases in taxes and spending.
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Coupled with tax provisions that House leaders stuffed into the spending bill to attract votes, the legislation would cost the government an estimated $680 billion over the next decade.
In June, conservatives had backed a previous Senate bill to restructure pension benefits, but Wolf vetoed it.
The Pennsylvania state Senate is advancing budget legislation that it previously opposed.
Gov. Tom Wolf is facing a decision over what to with a last-ditch spending bill sent to him without the increase in public school aid he had sought. Lawmakers have so far declined to specify which taxes they may raise or impose to fund their spending plan.
Rep. John McGinnis, R-Blair, argued on the floor that the proposal would have actually increased the state’s pension debt and that the Legislature should instead look to completely end the defined-benefit, traditional pension. “I think we should balance our budget and only spend what comes in”, he said.
Barbara McIlivane Smith, a Democrat who represented the 156th District in the State House, said this week that people have a right to be frustrated and have a constitutional right to take action if they feel that the government has failed to do its job. Senate Republicans said they want a no-tax, bare-bones budget if it is not accompanied by the pension legislation.
Earlier Wednesday, Democrats and Republicans were unable to strike a compromise on a different, $30.8 billion state spending package for 2016 supported by Wolf, a Democrat.
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).
The spending bill narrowly survived a series of procedural votes.
“We can’t send a budget bill to the governor without a tax code bill to pay for it”, Reed said.
Pennsylvania is one of just two states – IL is the other – still wrestling over a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. Domestic violence shelters are filled to capacity and several school districts have raised the idea of staying closed after the winter break to avoid having to borrow more money.
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Rep. Seth Grove, R-Dover Township, said the rank-and-file still haven’t seen a tax plan addressing how the spending package would be funded.
