Done . . . Last year's budget.

Now on to the next budget wrestling match.


Wolf relents on budget, ends historic impasse

Gov. Wolf on Wednesday said he will let the latest $30 billion Republican spending plan become law, ending the state's historic nine-month budget impasse.

At a news conference in Harrisburg, Wolf said he would neither sign nor veto the most recent budget proposal the GOP-led legislature sent him. Without either, it will automatically become law next week.

"I don't want to put my name on something that I don't believe is exactly something we ought to have," he said.

Instead, Wolf said, his administration will focus on achieving the policy goals - including tax increases - in the next year's fiscal budget.

"We need to move on," he said.

His announcement was an abrupt and unexepectedc turn in what had been a historic showdown between the first-term Democratic governor and the Republican-led legislature.

Twice since last summer, Wolf had vetoed GOP budget proposals, insisting that the state approve a spending plan that raises taxes to pay for hundreds of millions in new school funding. Last week, he signaled he would do the same.

But that fueled new concerns about the ability of some school districts to remain open through the school year without state aid - and rumblings that he might not have enough support within his own party to make another veto stick.

In his brief news conference, Wolf said that his inaction "means that schools will stay open until the end of the year."

Published: March 23, 2016 — 1:14 PM EDT | Updated: March 23, 2016 — 1:23 PM EDT
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Yeah, Scott just couldn't wait to politicize this concession. It will be more interesting to see how this budget 'balances' and if the two sides learned anything from the 'negotiations' concerning last year's budget going forward.

Let's hope they did for the overall good of the people of Pennsylvania. But the opening volleys that have already been fired makes it look like we're in for the same kind of impasse on next year's budget.

What a screwed up mess we have in Harrisburg. Let's hope the voting public learned something about their representatives and will take appropriate action in upcoming elections.

I think Wolf made the correct decision in letting the 15-16 budget become finalized.  I wonder if he found out there was a good chance enough Dem's would vote to override the budget and he didn't want that failure on his record

Hopefully the Governor and legislature learned from this last budget (from what I have heard and seen it doesn't appear they have) and can work together better on the 16-17 budget.

Does anyone know if the $2 billion deficit Wolf mentions is based of this years budget numbers or is that with the increased spending that he is proposing?

From a concerned education voter e-mail received today:


HB 1801 contains a modest $200 million increase in Basic Education Funding. However, more than 25% of this increase will go to banks instead of children’s classrooms because lawmakers did not include reimbursements to school districts for the extraordinary interest payments and fees they have incurred as a result of the budget impasse. In addition, lawmakers did not fund nearly $300 million in construction reimbursements to schools in the budget. As a result,  school districts will experience a net loss in state funding of about -$45 million this year.

If you have an opinion about this budget, please take a moment and call your state lawmaker to share your thoughts on this budget.

Governor Wolf will veto the Fiscal Code bill that Republicans sent along with the budget. Lawmakers attempted to sneak in an unacceptable backdoor amendment to the Fiscal Code that would have both gutted regulations over the gas and oil industry AND provided it with a new, large subsidy. In addition, lawmakers included a scheme in the Fiscal Code that would increase Pennsylvania's debt by $2.5 billion in order to raise enough revenue  pay about $300 million in promised payments to school districts for construction costs. Because money did not exist in the budget to make these payments,  lawmakers proposed a gimmick to move the payments off budget and to borrow money to make them. Given PA's very poor credit ratings and looming $2 billion structural deficit, borrowing $2.5 billion to pay for these obligations would be very costly and irresponsible.

HB 1801 is not a budget to celebrate.  Lawmakers should not congratulate themselves for passing a budget that fails to begin solving the state’s long-term school funding crisis, continues to underfund schools that educate the most vulnerable children in the Commonwealth, and ensures that Pennsylvania will maintain the dubious distinction of being the state with the most inequitable school funding system in the nation. Lawmakers should certainly not be proud of passing an unbalanced budget that creates a $2 billion deficit in 2016-2017.

I fail to understand what 'school funding crisis' we have? Do they mean pension crisis? I also fail to understand in what way our schools are underfunded? Pennsylvania is in the top 10 in states that spend the most per student on education.  You could give a school district like Philadelphia $1 Trillion and their schools would still be failing.  The reason that they are failing is not because of a lack of funding.

Last edited by The Man (3/24/2016 3:00 pm)