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August 11, 2009, 4:04 pm
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July 31, 2009, 6:55 pm
by Alex Roarty
House Majority Leader Todd Eachus (D-Luzerne) told reporters Friday evening that he has asked his caucus to return to the Capitol early Monday morning to discuss sending Senate Bill 850 to the governor’s desk so the chief executive can blue-line all line-items save basic government operations.
The move would allow the state to pay nearly 80,000 of its employees, who Friday experienced a payless payday because of the budget impasse
Continue reading…
July 31, 2009, 6:54 pm
by Alex Roarty
Legislative leaders called a Friday afternoon closed-door meeting at the Governor’s Mansion a positive step toward a budget agreement but were either unwilling or unable to cite specific examples of progress, a sign negotiations still face major hurdles before a deal is reached.
The lawmakers did reveal one agreement: They will meet Sunday at 10 a.m., again at the Governor’s Residence, to continue private negotiations after Friday’s roughly 75-minute session.
Continue reading…
July 30, 2009, 9:46 am
Senate Republicans and the governor’s office haven’t agreed on much lately.
On Thursday, their most recent dispute centered on whether somebody from the Department of Revenue and Budget Secretary’s office were scheduled to testify in front of the legislative conference committee.
Continue reading…
July 29, 2009, 5:40 pm
by Alex Roarty
Governor Ed Rendell said Wednesday that, pending continued stalled negotiations, Monday morning he will ask House leadership to send him Senate Bill 850 to create a “bridge†budget, a move that would allow the state to pay its 77,000 state workers.
The budget is meant to be a temporary one that would allow basic government functions, such as restaurant inspections and employee paydays, to continue while legislative leaders try to reach an agreement, the governor said. He will line-item veto everything else included in SB 850, including money for education and economic development.
Continue reading…
July 29, 2009, 5:39 pm
by Alex Roarty
Legislative leaders at Wednesday’s conference committee, who spent the discussion’s first hour debating the time and place of the next day’s meeting, need to “grow up,†Governor Ed Rendell said during his afternoon press conference.
Governor Rendell spoke roughly an hour and a half after the committee meeting had started, and began publicly lambasting the six legislative leaders involved minutes into the press conference.
Continue reading…
July 28, 2009, 9:29 am
by Alex Roarty
Governor Ed Rendell said Monday he will push a “stopgap†budget bill later this week if negotiations over the spending plan continue, as they did this weekend, to stall. This measure would allow the state to pay roughly 77,000 state workers scheduled to work without pay until a deal is reached.
Details of the plan will be released mid-week, but the governor said it would “get government back to work.†Pennsylvania government is 27 days late with its budget, and the administration has said it cannot pay its workers without one in place.
The unexpected announcement – the governor has previously opposed stopgaps in this and previous years – could alter the dynamics of budget talks. State employees’ payless paydays added urgency to negotiations, and lawmakers, including Democrats, said afterward they were concerned the stopgap bill could remove the impetus to reach a deal.
House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia) sees the measure as a double-edged sword, said spokeswoman Johnna Pro. The chairman is keenly aware of the difficulty the impasse has caused many state workers, she said, but he would prefer to focus on coming to a budget agreement.
Asked if the measure could remove
Continue reading Governor Floats Stopgap Bill; Legislature Lukewarm to Idea
July 17, 2009, 10:43 am
by Alex Roarty
House Democrats won a small victory Thursday afternoon when they unanimously opposed a Republican amendment to their budget proposal, a unified decision uncertain just last week.
But House GOP leadership and at least one rank-and-file Democrat said after the 103-95 vote that the new budget proposal faces a much sterner test if members are faced with a proposal for a broad-based tax increase, which Republican call inevitable.
The Democratic budget proposes to spend $27.8 billion next year while removing a chunk of higher-education funding from the General Fund. Democrats haven’t decided how to fund the new account but say it will cost $1.3 billion.
Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia) said the state can raise the money through a variety of options that don’t include a broad-based tax increase.
But his Appropriations Committee counterpart, Minority Chairman Mario Civera (R-Delaware), told reporters other revenues options don’t raise nearly enough money. He predicted the Democratic proposal will fall apart when caucus leadership asks its members to support a tax hike.
“I think it’s going to blow up in their faces,†Rep. Civera said. “Sooner or later reality is going to set in.â€
It didn’t happen Thursday because caucus leadership
Continue reading GOP Leadership, 'Blue Dog' Lawmaker Wonder If House D Unity Will Last
July 15, 2009, 4:35 pm
Wednesday’s vote to suspend House rules and consider the new Democratic budget proposal early sets the stage Thursday for a pivotal next step in ongoing budget negotiations.
Will House Democratic leadership have the votes to approve its new spending plan, which removes some higher-education funding from the budget while proposing to spend $27.8 billion on everything else, or will Republicans garner enough support for its roughly $27.3 billion plan?
GOP members said Wednesday they’re confident their side will win, which means House lawmakers would vote in favor of a budget amendment from House Appropriations Minority Chairman Mario Civera (R-Delaware).
“It’s responsible, doesn’t hold anybody hostage, and balanced the budget,†said caucus spokesman Steve Miskin.
He asserted supporting the Democratic plan would be tantamount for voting to increase taxes; an idea lawmakers have already soundly rejected.
The GOP plan cuts state spending, cobbles together one-time funding streams from an array of sources, including a tax-collection amnesty plan, and avoids a broad-based tax increase to bridge the state’s $3.2 billion revenue shortfall.
Democrats, meanwhile, have sharpened their message about the new plan since its surprise introduction Monday.
They argued their budget would break the stalemate while ensuring a better funding stream
Continue reading After Rules Suspension, Thursday to Showcase Big Budget Vote
July 14, 2009, 6:02 pm
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) told PLS in an interview Tuesday that yesterday’s new House Democratic spending plan is a “charade†that “just doesn’t make sense.â€
“I don’t think that proposal deserves serious detailed commentary,†Senator Pileggi said. “It’s very unlikely to survive a full vote on the floor of the House.â€
House Democrats surprised many observers Monday when they unveiled a new budget plan that called for some of the state’s higher education system to be funded separately from the general fund. House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia) said the new account would need $1.3 billion in funding while the state spent $27.8 billion next fiscal year in the general fund.
Rep. Evans denied the proposal, which the Appropriations Committee approved, is tantamount to a $29.1 billion spending plan.
“That’s some kind of new math that I’m not familiar with,†Senator Pileggi said.
The two sides are now farther apart on a budget agreement, already 14 days late, than they were before the week started, the majority leader said. The Democrats’ plan calls for $300 million more than even Governor Rendell wants, he said.
“They seem to be moving in exactly the wrong decision — for more
Continue reading Pileggi: House D budget plan not serious
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