July 01, 2015
Taking a step the state hasn't seen in decades, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the entire state budget Tuesday that put on his desk by the Republican-controlled Legislature, thrusting the state into the new fiscal year without a spending plan or an agreement about how to construct one.
Right now, state residents aren't likely to feel much of an impact, but that changes as the state moves deeper into the fiscal year without a budget. According to Dan Egan, a spokesman in the Office of Administration, state vendors are probably going to be hurt first if an agreement isn't reached.
Payments to vendors for work done in July can't be made until a new budget is in place, Egan said. This problem may begin to surface by late July.
Education aid distributed by the General Assembly may be stalled if the impasse continues long enough, according to the state's website. State employees, however, are reporting to work and are being paid. Departments are operating on a combination of funds left over from the previous year, federal dollars and other sources. There is no timeframe available for how long these funds will last. Mandatory services, like law enforcement, will continue regardless.
Wolf, a Democrat, vetoed the entire state budget, instead of just striking down sections because Republicans used their own list of priorities instead of his as the jumping off point for the legislation.
“The citizens of Pennsylvania sent us here to do serious work and to address the problems facing this commonwealth,” Wolf said in a statement. “This includes enacting a budget that contains fair and adequate education funding in part by implementing a common sense severance tax, providing property tax relief to Pennsylvania families and seniors, fixing the structural deficit, and providing a sound plan to create jobs across this commonwealth.”
“This budget does not accomplish these essential tasks, so I cannot, in good faith, give it my approval.”
Now, negotiations will continue past the fiscal-year deadline. The two sides disagree on tax increases, school funding, how to handle the pension system and how liquor should be sold.
Republicans held a press conference Tuesday after the state Senate passed a budget bill this week saying their spending plan didn’t raise taxes and increased funding to schools.
“We have not only met our Constitutional obligations we have kept our word to the people of Pennsylvania,” said Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, at the press conference.
“There is only one person who has the ability to shut down [the] government in Pennsylvania today and that is Gov. Wolf,” Reed said. “We can continue to talk about other legislative priorities over the summer and into the fall, but there is no reason to have a budget standoff.”
In March, Wolf gave a budget speech where he proposed raising sales and income taxes while lowering property taxes. In addition, a new natural gas extraction tax would be aimed at increasing funding for schools.
During the press conference, Wolf said that the Republican budget simply didn't add up.
“There are gimmicks in here, smoke and mirrors and a lot of kicking the can down the road,” he said. "I am truly sorry that we are at this place."
