House Minority Leader Sam Smith (R-Jefferson), Minority Appropriations Chairman Mario Civera (R-Delaware) and almost the entire House Republican Caucus gathered for a news conference this evening to proclaim that the “PIT increase is dead.” Rep. Smith accused the House Democratic leadership of “trying to create a crisis” by dragging budget negotiations out and said the Republicans have prepared a budget that is “responsible” and “doesn’t include a tax increase.” Check the PLS Capitol Toolbox later today for the full story.
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Members are starting to emerge from caucus. Rep. Markosek reports the House will vote on SB 850 tonight 5:10: Rep. Grove twittered “just broke caucus…We are ready to pass a budget tonight.” 5:49: Rep. Christiana twittered press Conference Friday 10:30am on “responsible budget roll out, without tax increases”. 6:05: Rep. Cutler twittered “There have been several extensions and no bills moved today. Rumors are we are done and they will send us home.” 6:10: House GOP expected to hold press conference shortly to “claim victory over the death of the PIT increase” and to announce their own proposal, according to staff. 6:14: House GOP twittered no more votes today – not adjourned yet. Dems set schedule to be out all weekend and return on Monday. PLS has learned Friday, Saturday & Sunday session has been cancelled. Republican and Democratic leadership met, Governor Ed Rendell presented another $72 million in cuts, and each side, content its staffs can work out the details, left the negotiating table after about 30 minutes of talks in the Capitol. So concluded Monday evening a brief budget meeting among legislative leaders and Governor Ed Rendell, another small step of progress as the parties grind closer to a spending-plan compromise. “The important thing is not to read too much into the short duration of the meeting,†said Chuck Ardo, Rendell’s press secretary. Senate Republican leaders, interviewed quickly as they descended down the steps from the governor’s Capitol office, said the brief meeting didn’t signal any new disagreement with the Democrats. They simply listened to Gov. Ed Rendell’s new proposal and left afterward, they said. Another meeting is scheduled tomorrow, although the logistics have not been determined. As Speaker of the House Keith McCall (D-Carbon) told reporters before entering the governor’s office, “We’re still working.†Republicans and Democrats met last week for a two-day negotiation in the governor’s residence, when the two parties reviewed the budget line-by-line. They are trying to help the state bridge a $3.25 billion revenue shortfall. Posted by Mike | Tags: Budget, congressional redistricting, cuts | Category: Capitol View, LBFC, News and Views, Senate Environmental Resources and Energy | Comments are closed | Share:
State Board of Education Chairman, Joe Torsella, unveiled an plan that addresses the concerns of “key stakeholders and legislative leaders” regarding the Keystone Exams. Torsella affirmed that “students will have less and better testing” under the new plan and said the proposal will save taxpayers money. He stressed that the Keystone Exams will not be “all or nothing, high stakes tests.” Check the PLS Capitol Toolbox later today to read the full story. The committee met to consider four bills. HB 22, HB 1030, HB 1798, and HB 1801 were unanimously reported as committed. Check the PLS Capitol Toolbox later today for the full story. Posted by Matt | Category: House Agriculture & Rural Affairs, House Appropriations | Comments are closed | Share:
As part of his ongoing meetings on healthcare reform, Rep. Josh Shapiro met today with representatives of health insurance providers in Pennsylvania. A common refrain among those attending the meeting, including spokesman for the Insurance Federation, the Blues and other large providers, was that when it comes to any kind of large-scale reform, “the devil is in the details.” Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story. Posted by Mike | Tags: back tags, blues, funding formulas | Category: Face to Face, Press Conference | Comments are closed | Share:
The Joint Legislative Budget and Finance Committee met today to release preliminary reports of four Pennsylvania tax credit programs. In accordance with Senate Resolution 20 and House Resolutions 115, 127 and 824 the reports released today included an evaluation of the Keystone Opportunity Zone Program, and preliminary reports on Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, the Research and Development Tax Credit Program, as well as an overall study of After school Programs in Pennsylvania. Check the Capitol Tool Box later for more information. Posted by intern | Tags: AARP, After School Programs, Department of Labor & Industry, EITC, Keystone Opportunity Zones, pharmacies, R&D | Category: Joint Legislative Conservation Committee, LBFC, Public/Informational Committee Hearing | Comments are closed | Share:
The House Game Committee met to consider three bills. HB 97 was unanimously reported with an omnibus amendment and SB 574 was unanimously reported without amendments. HB 965 was reported by a vote of 13-10 (all but one Republican voted in the negative) with an amendment that was unanimously adopted. Several members expressed concern with the legislature interjecting itself into the Game Commission and other members discussed the action recently taken by the Game Commission regarding cross bows and the confusion it will create among hunters. Look for the complete story in the Capitol Toolbox early this afternoon. Posted by Kim | Tags: conference committee, crossbow, Gold Star Mother's Day, hunting | Category: Committee Voting Meeting, House Finance, House Game & Fisheries | Comments are closed | Share:
The committee unanimously voted to recall, re-refer, and report certain executive nominations. Check the PLS Capitol Toolbox later today for the full story.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS PLAN TO CUT $1.7 BILLION FROM SB 850 Saying there isn’t enough support for their proposed broad-based tax increase, the governor and House Democratic leadership shifted positions Wednesday night and announced a new plan to cut an additional $1.7 billion from the $27.3 billion Senate-approve budget. It’s an abrupt change for the Democratic leadership, which had been pushing Governor Ed Rendell’s proposed three-year, 16 percent increase to the personal income tax to fund his $28.8 billion budget proposal. But Speaker of the House Keith McCall (D-Carbon), speaking to reporters after the late-night meeting at the Governor’s Mansion, said members of his caucus and the public made it clear they won’t tolerate any tax hikes. Without any broad-based tax increases and with Senate Bill 850 unbalanced, Speaker McCall said the cuts were necessary to match state spending with revenue. But he said they will force state government to lay off as many as 6,000 state workers, close hospitals, and eviscerate welfare and education spending. He called the scale “mind-boggling.†“If the public wants a no-tax budget, well, this is what a no-tax budget looks like,†Speaker McCall said. Go to www.mypls.com and click Continue reading Eye Opener – July 9, 2009 Posted by Matt | Category: Eye Opener | Comments are closed | Share:
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