If you were expecting an upbeat report on state budget talks, you will be disappointed with the news this week.  On the other hand, if you wanted to read about a new batch of smutty emails released by Pennsylvania’s indicted Attorney General, you would be in luck!

Bipartisan groups of Senate and House members and staff did meet a few times this week on the budget, while Gov. Wolf traveled the state again to drum up support for his proposals.

There was the occasional misfire, however, as anti-tax demonstrators in Fayette County tried to shout down the Governor at his own event.

Otherwise, his arguments and charts were all about the same as last week, and the week before and the week before that.

When asked about the status of budget negotiations at one stop, Wolf said, “Staffs are working, I’m talking with leaders on the other side, we’re all doing what we’re supposed to do in this situation.”

School districts expressed their displeasure at the situation by filing a lawsuit against the Governor and State Treasurer to prevent the transfer of gaming revenue to charter schools, but then asked that gaming revenue due public school districts be paid.

Gov. Wolf said he opposed any payments to any more school districts (he already paid Chester Upland School District $5 million so they could pay their teachers) or charter schools, even as the City of Philadelphia schools borrowed money this week to meet its payroll and the Allentown School District said they are borrowing $50 million to deal with the impasse.

The Erie School District was turned down once this week for a $47 million loan from the State Treasurer to see them through the impasse, and not being content, they asked again.   They said it’s the same thing the House Democratic Caucus is doing to keep its paychecks coming.

Wolf said he understood the situation schools face with funding during the impasse, but added, “I’m holding out for a budget that’s realistic.”

In the Governor’s own county of York things were looking bad. The county this week took steps to secure a $20 million line of credit to tide them over because state money wasn’t coming in.

Erie County said they may have to borrow $30 million to cope with the impasse.

Thursday, Gov. Wolf added to the list of what isn’t working in state government by saying horse racing may have to be shut down soon because of a decline in gaming and the fact the budget impasse is blocking money going to the Horse Racing Fund.

On the other hand, Gov. Wolf did announce something he said is working in state government-- a new initiative to track 700 state snow plows automatically this winter in real time.

Undaunted by all this negative talk, a gaggle of House Republicans proposed a new set of bills they called “lifelines” containing funding for public and nonpublic education, social and other services they said Gov. Wolf has already agreed-to.

It wasn’t immediately clear why the lawmakers thought the Governor wouldn’t veto the new bills like he did the stopgap funding measures Senate and House Republicans passed in September.  Perhaps because they called them “lifelines” and not the harsher sounding “stopgaps?”

The bottom line is this space might as well be blank, because there is no progress to report on the budget.

Maybe next week...because after the week of October 26, the Senate is scheduled to take a break until November 16.  Already some Democrats are saying“no budget, no break.”

The House is scheduled to return November 4, after this week.

NewsClips:

Shale Executives Raise The Pressure Against Severance Tax

Drilling Coalition Reinforces Stand Again Higher Taxes

Drilling Industry Struggling For Its Competitive Survival

Op-Ed: New Energy Taxes Could Jeopardize Jobs In PA

Editorial: Expand Shale Gas Pact To Include Fair Taxation

Wolf Holding Out For Realistic Budget, May Be A While

Tax Protestors Greet Wolf In Connellsville

Wolf, Republicans Talking Budget, Not To Each Other

Solo Funding Bills Latest Budget Gambit

GOP Lawmakers Want To Give $3B In Lifelines

Wolf Warns Horse Racing May Shut Down Due To Impasse

10/26/2015