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December 13, 2011, 4:38 pm
House Bill 1950, the Marcellus Shale impact fee bill, cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee today, set for a final vote in that chamber. The bill, cleared the committee after Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne) failed to amend the measure. Committee Majority Chairman Jake Corman (R-Centre) speculated the bill will likely end up in conference committee after it passes the Senate as the House and Gov. Tom Corbett have yet to agree on the language the Senate had previously amended into the bill.
Check the Around the Capital section of the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
October 5, 2009, 11:40 am
Conference Committee Coverage
September 10, 2009, 6:56 pm
PLS has confirmed that a budget agreement is very close, potentially even sealed. An announcement is expected at a press conference tomorrow morning. Furthermore, the Conference Committee on HB 1416 may reconvene this weekend. Stay tuned to PLS for updates as they happen.
September 1, 2009, 11:54 am
The Conference Committee on HB 1416 met for several hours this morning, in the latest of public meetings to hammer out a budget agreement. Working towards a compromise spending number, the committee adjourned at noon to allow staff to review and compile a comparative spreadsheet containing both the $28.1 billion House Democratic proposal (Dubbed “XYZ”) and House Minority Leader Sam Smith’s counterproposal. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
September 1, 2009, 8:33 am
August 31, 2009, 3:09 pm
At a press conference this afternoon, Governor Rendell voiced his approval that the Conference Committee on HB 1416 will be reconvening tomorrow. Despite the unproductive nature of the committee’s first two meetings, the governor expressed confidence that partisanship and bickering will not color the remainder of the committee’s schedule. The governor noted that following talks with the industry and Republican lawmakers, he feels it is unlikely that a severance tax on Marcellus Shale gas extraction will be a part of any agreement. He said it is fully possible that a budget is agreed to by the end of next week, and signed the week after. Check the Capitol Toolbox later for the full story.
August 27, 2009, 3:52 pm
Speaker of the House Keith McCall (D-Carbon) and House Majority Leader Todd Eachus (D-Luzerne) held a press conference this afternoon to express their anger and disappointment that the Senate Republican leadership has once again lowered its proposed spend number from $27.5 billion to $27.1 billion. Rep. McCall said that the proposal by Senate Republican leadership yesterday proves that previous discussions have not been “genuine talks,” and that he was insulted by Senate Republican leadership insinuating that the new proposal was the “first step” towards a budget agreement. Rep. McCall and Rep. Eachus also discussed sources of sustainable-recurring revenue, HB 1828, and how the two leaders would now proceed to call back the conference committee on HB 1416 next week.
Check the Capitol Toolbox later for more information.
August 4, 2009, 10:04 am
Representative Curtis Thomas (D-Philadelphia) held a press conference today in the Media Center of the Capitol Building to outline the budget priorities he believes are most critical to the State of Pennsylvania and to urge the Conference Committee members to get back to work and produce a budget as soon as possible. Rep. Thomas said the top priority should be getting paychecks to 33,000 unpaid state employees, as well as providing Pennsylvania counties, such as Philadelphia with the “enabling” authority to raise local revenues. Rep. Vanessa Brown (D-Philadelphia) was also in attendance and touted the importance of passing a budget that will help to get critical services back to the most in-need of citizens. Check the Capitol Tool Box later for more information.
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, 1:30 pm
Upon returning from a recess, Conference Committee Chairman Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia) suggested that some committee members should enter into a discussion with the Governor and his staff in order to find ways to bridge concerns for state employees and work to further resolve the budget. Chairman Evans also suggested that committee staff members should meet to review balance sheets and figure out where agreements can be made and differences can be resolved on, specifically on one-time sources of revenue. Chairman Evans then announced the committee would stand in recess until the call of the chair. Check the Capitol Tool Box later for more information.
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