March 23, 2016
After a nearly nine-month impasse, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is allowing a Republican budget to become law. But he's not happy about it.
Wolf announced Wednesday he's letting House Bill 1801 go through without his signature, releasing an additional $6.6 billion in state funding after vetoing parts of a Republican budget last year.
The governor said in a release the math in the GOP budget "does not work," citing a cut in expenditures and a remaining deficit.
However, Wolf has decided to essentially raise the white flag on the contentious battle with Republicans and turn his attention to the 2016-17 budget. Video of Wolf's announcement can be viewed below:
“This will allow for funding to go out to schools and other services in the short term, but we still face enormous problems that this budget does not even pretend to address," Wolf said.
Gov. Wolf: Let’s get to work — real work — to create a budget that actually adds up.
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) March 23, 2016
PennLive notes the decision is a turnaround for the Democratic governor from just last week after he threatened to veto the budget.
Yet even though the plan calls for $175 million less than he wanted for school funding, school leaders were starting to turn on him as the lack of state money was putting many in a fiscal bind.
GOP lawmakers rejoiced that their "no new taxes" plan had gone through.
As angelic choir music wafts over the Capitol GOP leadership budget completion presser, I'm pretty sure this is the #ImmaculateSignification
— Rep. Stephen Bloom (@RepBloom) March 23, 2016
.@GovernorTomWolf gives in and will allow #PABudget w/no tax increases to become law. #realitycheck
— Sen. Lloyd Smucker (@SenatorSmucker) March 23, 2016
The hallelujah chorus in the background of the @PAHouseGOP press conference is appropriate. Wolf finally lets a #pabudget become law!
— Abbey Haslam (@abbeyhaslam) March 23, 2016
The crux of Wolf's original plan last year was $350 million in new taxes for a "historic" jump in education spending, an issue the now-second-year governor made a hallmark of his campaign.
In December, Wolf and members of the state's GOP leadership had seemingly reached a compromise: The taxes and spending for education were scaled back, and Wolf made concessions on privatizing state liquor stores and public pension benefits.
Conservative members of the House balked, however, and called for an even smaller spending plan. Later that month, Wolf vetoed what he called a "pretend" budget.
The governor will try again at attaining his spending goals with his proposal for the coming year, which includes a $200 million increase in education spending, tax hikes on Marcellus Shale and income and increasing the minimum wage to $10.15 an hour.
