Pa. budget bill sent to governor; but fight far from over

The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday passed the main appropriations bill in a $30.3 billion package.

Governor Tom Wolf warned House Republicans on Monday not to bother with a short-term budget, saying such a measure would receive his veto.

The results of this bill and this vote makes us wonder if any of the so-called conservatives who are members of House Freedom Caucus are regretting their support for Paul Ryan and their contemptible abandonment of Daniel Webster’s bid for the Speaker’s gavel now that they’ve seen conservatives outside Congress were right in urging them stand fast against Ryan.

In November, Wolf and House and Senate leaders agreed to a budget deal that revolved around a 6 percent spending increase and a $1 billion-plus tax increase.

Other major elements of the bipartisan budget deal remain in limbo.

Pennsylvania, an anomaly among states for its late budgets and long stalemates, is close to breaking its modern-day record – Wednesday, Dec. 23 – for a budget fight, set in 2003 by another first-year Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, and a Republican-controlled Legislature. The union says it doesn’t increase funding for schools and does nothing to fix structural deficit.

Republicans pushed a year-end tax-cut compromise toward House passage Thursday as Congress prepared to finish 2015 with a flurry of accomplishment and await the partisan collisions sure to dominate the coming election year.

Pennsylvania state government’s 6-month-old budget stalemate is crumbling, but disagreements remain as lawmakers rush to approve bipartisan budget legislation before Christmas.

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said he does not expect the House bill would be considered in the Senate.

Smith applauded Wolf’s decision to veto the “stop-gap” budget, which she said represented a failure of the legislature to do its job. “And then we’re going to pick up next year and pick up where we left off and keep going for more”.

A state government with a heart, courage and a brain should be able to find a way to get such services funded on time, or at least well before the end of the calendar year.

But state Sen. Mike Folmer, a Lebanon County Republican who represents a portion of York County, doesn’t think the senate will be recalled.

“Wolf should absolutely veto it”, she said.

The state has been without a budget since July 1. The House meant to spend the weekend in session to finally pass a budget that is almost six months overdue.

Democrats and moderate Republicans narrowly sent a $30.8 billion spending bill supported by Gov. Tom Wolf over a key procedural hurdle in the House Tuesday, raising hopes of a deal by Christmas. 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.