Credit: Office of the Governor
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved a budget-funding bill on Wednesday night, one that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has called “irresponsible.”
The state is currently in the middle of its third month without a budget after this year’s general fund budget lapsed into law in late June without a signature from the governor.
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According to PennLive, the Republican-controlled House approved a revenue bill that attempts to plug a $2.2 billion deficit and dodge a tax hike while taking funds from more than 40 special accounts across the state government. The Republican-controlled senate, with the official backing of Gov. Wolf, passed a revenue bill in July; that bill included $570 million in new taxes, including a severance tax on Marcellus shale natural gas drillers.
“There is some real hardship for people and institutions that people in this building really care about, and the people of Pennsylvania really care about,” Gov. Wolf told the Inquirer and Daily News before the vote was taken.
House Republicans have advocated for their plan over the Senate plan, saying it provides an alternative to tax increases and avoids a new tax on gas drillers that they fear would harm the industry. Democrats have said they feel both plans lack recurring sources of revenue needed to solve a more systemic budget imbalance.
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A report from PennLive notes that the past decade of Pennsylvania public policy is “replete with examples” of improper budget balancing. The budget for the Commonwealth was balanced last year on a $150 million gambling expansion that never came to full fruition.
According to various media reports, Wolf is optimistic that the House and the Senate will come to a compromise, however, he has “taken some steps” to cover the state through the weekend. The Democratic governor said he expects to know more in the coming days what specific spending might have to be cut. Wolf said he expects that Standard & Poor’s would likely call Monday to announce that it would downgrade the state’s credit rating, making it more expensive for the state to borrow money.
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“If they’re going to force this issue,” he said, “I will manage the financial situation as best I can.”
