Pennsylvania’s nearly kind of budget: What they said

Until the final budget is passed, districts are still mired in uncertainty.

Federal funding recipients: Along with the release of some state funding, Wolf also authorized the release of $24.4 billion in federal funding that two dozen state agencies rely on to fund various programs.

The Democrat OK’d $23.3 billion in emergency spending to prevent school closures for six months and provide funds for medical assistance and corrections institutions, according to the statement from the governor’s office.

To make ends meet during the budget standoff, social service agencies have been forced to lay off employees, some state-subsidized prekindergarten programs have closed their doors and many school districts faced the possibility that they would not reopen after the holidays or run out of money.

“So, to the legislators elected to do the people’s business: let’s get back to work”. “Today, vital education and human services money is being released to those who need it most”. The bill, which resembled a GOP budget plan that Wolf rejected at the end of the fiscal year in June, would have left a budget hole of more than $2 billion by the end of the next fiscal year.

Republican legislative leaders: Although the governor is still fighting for his priorities, the partial budget is effectively what GOP leaders have been pushing for since September.

Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln universities: At this point, there is no money in the stopgap budget directed to them.

Republican leaders in both houses said they are ready to resume bipartisan budget discussions, but House Speaker Mike Turzai sent out a memo Tuesday afternoon saying that the House would not convene before Monday. Wolf says, he was exercising his constitutional right to line item veto what he called a ridiculous exercise in budget futility Wolf is also vetoing the Senate’s 95 million dollar cut to education. However, this is expected to be an area that would addressed in a finalized state budget. To the right of that is the funding levels agreed to in the “framework” budget Gov. Tom Wolf agreed to with the Pennsylvania Senate. That plan would require up to $1 billion in unspecified tax increases.

Negotiations over the state budget have run hot and cold for almost a year.

Rob Gleason, the state Republican chairman, said Tuesday that Wolf’s June veto of the budget “needlessly plunged our school districts and nonprofits into a six-month crisis”. We need to pass the budget that the Senate and House passed – Senate Bill 1073.