Pa. budget without $1.8 billion dares lawsuit, bond downgrade

$31 billion election-year spending bill, and put a quick end to legal questions over how the state can operate on an unbalanced budget, lawmakers said.

The General Assembly has the duty in Article 8, Section 13 to ensure the revenues are there to meet the spending that they appropriate.

Bills that would legalize online gambling and raise taxes on cigarettes would reportedly make up for the shortfall, but some House Republicans who voted against sending the budget to Wolf without a firm revenue plan in the first place are set against any additional tax increases.

Metzgar said that he expected Wolf to line-item veto the measure.

Separately, an act creating the state’s Independent Fiscal Office requires a governor to “certify” any appropriation bill does not cause total appropriations to exceed revenues plus any unappropriated surplus.

“I was surprised he is taking this course of action”, he said.

Therefore, the General Appropriation bill becoming law without the Governor’s signature is not, in fact, unconstitutional.

The governor’s aides later said the administration can not spend more money than it has coming in. So far, the legislature has not agreed on a revenue package. The House reconvenes Tuesday afternoon.

The money is necessary to help pay for the spending bill on Wolf’s desk, plus another almost $600 million in aid to Penn State, Temple, Pitt, Lincoln and Penn that remains in limbo in the House, budget negotiators say.

Governor Wolf made the announcement about 30 hours before the midnight deadline on Monday.

The bill becomes law without his signature midnight Monday.

But, Christiana did not spare his GOP colleagues from criticism, either, saying Republican leaders “were complicit in this budget getting to Tom Wolf’s desk and now there is no plan to pay for it”. The governor’s aides say the administration won’t spend more money than it has coming in if the Republican-controlled Legislature doesn’t approve an acceptable revenue package.

“To me this is another ideal example that this governor is just unable to lead”, he said.

Citing bills that enacted liquor reform and the legalization of medical marijuana, Wolf expressed confidence that state lawmakers would reach an agreement.