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Frustration: No Conference Committee, No Veto Override, No Budget
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Gov. Rendell this week stood before yet more groups at press conferences (even Bill Cosby was there) who said they would have to close their operations because the Governor zeroed out their appropriations (even where he agreed with Republicans) in an attempt to get leverage on Senate Republicans to raise taxes to get them more funding. Link: List of all environmental items vetoed by Gov. Rendell: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddcr6dp5_1fq7cm5gk In response to the override attempts, Gov. Rendell said, "The Senate Democratic caucus did the right and courageous thing today: they put the next generation before the next election, and they demonstrated a strong and long standing commitment to passing a real and responsible budget for the citizens of this state." The House, meanwhile, sent the last bill to the Governor to at least get the remaining state employees their paychecks. Of course, included in the $12.9 billion Gov. Rendell vetoed from the budget bill earlier in the month was all the funding for the departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources and their supporting agencies like county conservation districts, except for personnel costs. (8/10/09 Pa Environment Digest)
AnotherHouse Republican Budget House Minority Appropriations Committee Chair Mario Civera (R-Delaware) announced on the floor of the House he will be introducing a third state budget proposal as House Bill 1943 and asked members to co-sponsor the proposal. He said the bill would spend $27.5 billion, slightly more than their earlier proposal, and would increase education funding by $185 million.
This proposal, like the last one, relies on leasing more State Forest Land for Marcellus Shale drilling which they say would generate about $208 Million. Other key difference between the Senate Republican budget (Senate Bill 850) and the Governor's budget request include: --Department of Agriculture: The department would receive $64.7 Million in this budget, which is $17.4 Million less than last year. However, this plan would provide more funding than either the Rendell Budget or Senate Bill 850. --Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: A total of $100.7 Million would be provided to DCNR in this budget, resulting in an overall reduction of $19.7 Million from FY 2008-09. The funding would be more than Senate Bill 850 and provides an increase of over $6.2 Million in appropriations that are used for personnel. State Forest Operations would receive a $1.9 Million increase over FY 2008-09 in this budget to support the management and maintenance of the State Forest system and lands. --Department of Environmental Protection: Total DEP funding under this budget would be $11 Million more than Senate Bill 850. |
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8/24/2009 |
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