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UPDATED: Senate, House Republicans, Governor Reach Agreement On Budget

Saturday evening, Senate and House Republicans and Gov. Corbett announced they reached agreement on a $28.3 billion state spending plan, slightly less than the Governor’s $28.4 billion proposed budget. The agreed-to budget represents a 2.3 percent increase in spending over the current year budget.

House Bill 1437 (Adolph-R- Delaware) was passed Sunday in a bipartisan vote of 33 to 17 in the Senate and 111 to 92 in the House and was signed into law by Gov. Corbett 90 minutes before the midnight deadline making it his third on-time budget.

Gov. Corbett said at the signing ceremony it was only the end of the first quarter in dealing with the Senate and House on his three priorities-- liquor privatization, transportation funding and pension reform. He said he looks forward to working with legislators over the summer and wrapping up those issues in the Fall. Click Here to read his full statement.

House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) and other members of the House attended the budget signing, but no members of the Senate attended.

For its part, the House did not take up the transportation funding bill-- Senate Bill 1 (Rafferty-R- Montgomery)-- as expected.

Click Here to view a spreadsheet comparing FY 2012-13 and new FY 2013-14 appropriations. Click Here for the agency-by-agency budget spreadsheet which compares current year funding, the Governor’s request and the agreed-to budget numbers. Some highlights include--

DEP

Conservation Districts- $2.5 million ($350,000 less than last year)

Sewage Facilities Planning Grants- $200,000 (zeroed out last year)

Marcellus Shale Drilling Research - $150,000

Overall- $2.8 million increase

DCNR

Heritage Parks - $2.2 million (zeroed out last few years)

Overall - $22.7 million cut (probably substituted more Oil & Gas Lease Fund monies

Agriculture

Conservation Districts- $869,000 ($150,000 less than last year)

Overall- $5.7 million cut ($3.4 million cut in General Govt. Operations)

Environmental Hearing Board- $2.1 million ($181,000 more than last year)

Commonwealth Financing Authority- $7.5 million less than last year

NewsClips:

Corbett Signs $28.4 Billion Budget

Corbett Signs Budget Before Deadline

Corbett Beats Deadline, Signs Budget

Corbett Signs New State Budget

Corbett Promises To Redouble Efforts On Liquor, Transportation

Corbett, House GOP Punts On Key Priorities

Spending Plan Passes Without Corbett Priorities

Corbett Signs Budget As Bigger Agenda Stalls

Lawmakers React To Budget, Stalled Agenda

Rendell Lobbied For Transportation Bill, Disappointed

Op-Ed: Bipartisan Transportation Funding Initiative- Schwartz

Senate Committee Moves $28.4 Billion Budget Bill

Some Budget Highlights

Corbett Agenda Down To House Democrats

Corbett Agenda Hits Snag In Legislature

Lawmakers Risk Missing State Budget Deadline

PA Budget Comes Down To The Wire

Lawmakers Rush To Pass Budget By Midnight

Capital Buzz Not About Budget

Capitol’s Late Show Goes On

Bumsted: Tom Corbett’s Dilemma

Editorial: Playing The Budget Waiting Game

House Fails To Take Up Transportation Bill

Transportation Bill Goes Nowhere In House

GOP: House Dems Holding Transportation Funding Bill Hostage

Earlier Edition Article On The Budget --------------------------------------

With just two voting days left before the July 1 deadline for a state budget, Republicans running the Governor’s Office, Senate and House are having a hard time agreeing on not only the General Fund budget in House Bill 1437 (Adolph-R-Delaware), but the other big ticket items the Governor wants to go along with the budget.

The one issue with the biggest single impact on the General Fund budget-- pension reform-- was taken off the table by House Speaker Sam Smith (R-Jefferson) earlier in the week, but we’ll have to see if that sticks.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) and Senate Republicans were having a hard time coming up with 26 votes on their side of the Rotunda to pass any form of liquor privatization, let alone one that would be satisfactory to House Republicans and the Governor. In fact, Senate Republicans went old school starting the debate on a liquor privatization amendment after midnight Friday in the wee hours of Saturday and ending it at 1:38 a.m.

House Republicans wobbled a few times, but finally got a $1.9 billion transportation funding package out of the Transportation and potentially in position for one floor vote on Saturday, but it is unknown whether it will be acceptable to Senate Republicans or the Governor.

Without agreement on the General Fund budget, related bills which usually go along with any budget agreement-- amendments to the Fiscal Code, Tax Code, Welfare Code and the Education Code-- can go nowhere and the lack of voting days left means voting on those measures will probably spill over into next week.

Gov. Corbett got some quality time Friday with Sen. Scarnati and Speaker Smith as they toured areas in their districts affected by flooding earlier this week. Wondered what they talked about?

NewsClips:

State Leaders Split Harrisburg For Flood Visit

Hive Mind At Budget Time At The Capitol

Budget Deal Close, Not So Much On Other Priorities

Corman: Corbett’s Wishlist Proving To Be A Distraction

Pension Reform Has Potential $37 Billion Extra Cost

Would Pension Switch Costs? No Easy Answer

Hard Numbers On Cost Of Pension Switch

House Speaker Says Pension Bills May Have To Wait

Editorial: Senators Shortchange Public On Pension Fix

House Panel Moves $1.9 Billion Transportation Bill

House Committee Moves $2 Billion Transportation Package