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Updated: House Again Throws Wrench Into Budget Action, Next Steps Uncertain
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Note: This budget story will be updated through the weekend.  The latest news is always available at the PA Environment Digest Daily Blog, Twitter Feed or our Google+ Circle.

(Dec. 20, 6:15 p.m.) -- House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) tweeted this evening the House is preparing a stopgap funding bill it expects to consider on Tuesday and Wednesday. Senate Republicans and Gov. Wolf said Saturday they would not support a stopgap funding bill. The wanted an entire budget.

(Dec. 20, 2:30 p.m.) -- House just added December 21 (non-voting), 22, 23 as voting days, formally adjourns to the call of the Chair (not to a date certain). The Senate is on a 6-hour call (not to a date certain).

(Dec. 19, 8:15 p.m.) -- Resolving the state budget hit yet another bump in the road Saturday when the House failed to pass a pension reform bill-- Senate Bill 1071 (Browne-R-Lehigh), a key part of the “agreed-to” budget framework, by a wide margin-- 52 to 149.

Pointing to that failure, House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) immediately announced the House would consider a stopgap budget bill when the House reconvenes.

A few minutes after that, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre) told reporters his caucus will not accept a stopgap budget and it is now up to the House Republicans to come up with a 12-month budget without any new revenues.

Sen. Corman added, any new taxes are dead without pension reform.

Gov. Tom Wolf agreed saying: “Let me be clear. A stopgap is not the answer. We need a full year budget. Let’s get back to work. All of us. Let’s get this done now.

“This is not over. We still need a budget. And we need it now. The Senate Republicans led on this – but it was a bipartisan effort. They delivered a budget –full year budget – that made wise investments in our schools and that was truly balanced.

“We cannot slide back on our commitment to our schools. We cannot slide back on our commitment to a truly balanced budget. We cannot slide back on our commitment to a full year budget,” Wolf added.

Earlier, it seemed like things were moving along relatively according to plan.

The House nonconcurred in the Tax Code bill-- House Bill 1198 (Dunbar-R- Westmoreland)-- and the Senate followed closely by insisting on its amendments, setting up a Senate-House conference committee on the taxes needed to fund the $30.8 billion “agreed-to” General Fund budget.

Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks) did attempt to amend the bill to adopt a 3.2 percent severance tax on natural gas on top of the existing drilling impact fee, but could not as a result of a procedural vote.

Of course, Rep. Bill Adolph (R-Delaware), Majority Chair House Appropriations Committee, did tell PA Legislative Services after the Committee vote: "I don't think anyone really knows what the tax package is going to be."

The first hint of trouble was when House Democrats voted against the pension bill coming out of the House Appropriations Committee saying the bill was going to do nothing to reduce the unfunded debt in the state and school employee pension funds.

The bill was reported out in a party-line vote of 22 to 15.  Rep. Joe Markosek (D-Allegheny), Minority Chair of the Committee, said they never agreed to have pension reform as part of the “agreed-to” budget framework.

Rep. Adolph (R-Delaware) said the pension bill will make important reforms and noted Gov. Wolf had promised to sign it into law.

Click Here for an analysis of the pension bill by House Democrats.  A House Fiscal Note and summary is also available.

There were no other votes in the House after the pension bill failed.

The other budget-related bills-- the Fiscal Code bill-- House Bill 1327; the Liquor privatization bill- House Bill 1690; and the Education Code changes-- House Bill 530-- all remain in the House Rules Committee.

Voting Schedule

The House had planned to reconvene to vote on Sunday, but that has now been pushed back to 11:00 a.m. Monday.

The Senate had also been planning to be in session Sunday, but they switch to a 6-hour call and went home.  They won’t be back at the Capitol until there is something to vote on for sure this time.

Will House Republicans try to move a stopgap budget bill in the face of opposition from the Senate and Governor?

Will they put together their own 12-month budget with, or without, new sources of revenue?

Or, will they come back to the negotiating table and try to work something out?

Stay tuned! …..

NewsClips:

AP: House Kills Pension Bill, Leaving Budget Deal In Tatters

PLS: Budget Framework Crumbles, Next Steps Evolving

House Tosses Pension Bill As Budget Impasse Wears On

What’s Next On Budget, Hard To Tell As Impasse Turns To Spaghetti

Budget Agreement Careens Toward Collapse

House Rejects Pension Bill, Could Move Stopgap Budget

PLS: Reed: Stopgap Next, No New Revenue Without Pension Reform

Wolf Tries To Breathe Life Into Budget After Pension Bill

PLS Video: Wolf: We Still Have A Budget Plan

Pension Defeat Draws Disappointment From Leaders

House Kills Pension Bill, Putting Budget Deal In Limbo

Again, No Budget, Wolf Says This Is Not Over

PLS: Markosek Says House Dems Never Agreed With Pension Bill

Micek: Can’t Anyone Pass A Budget Around Here?

Swift: Caucus Power Thrives In Budget Impasse

Editorial: Impasse Proves Shake-Up Needed

(Dec. 19, 4:30 p.m.) -- Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre) told reporters late this afternoon his caucus will not accept a stopgap budget and it is now up to the House Republicans to come up with a 12-month budget without any new revenues.

House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) announced plans to consider a stopgap budget, after the House failed to pass the pension reform bill-- Senate Bill 1071 (Browne-R-Lehigh)-- by a vote of 52 to 149.

Sen. Corman added, any new taxes are dead without pension reform.

Gov. Tom Wolf agreed in remarks to the press later that a stopgap budget is not the answer: “We still have a budget plan. It is a compromise and it is the product of a lot of good people working across the aisle to get it done.

“This is not over. We still need a budget. And we need it now. The Senate Republicans led on this – but it was a bipartisan effort. They delivered a budget –full year budget – that made wise investments in our schools and that was truly balanced.

“We cannot slide back on our commitment to our schools. We cannot slide back on our commitment to a truly balanced budget. We cannot slide back on our commitment to a full year budget.

“Let me be clear. A stop gap is not the answer. We need a full year budget.

“Let’s get back to work. All of us. Let’s get this done now.”

NewsClips:

Reed: Work On Stopgap, No New Revenue Without Pension Reform

AP: House Kills Pension Bill, Leaving Budget Deal In Tatters

(Dec. 19, 3:00 p.m.) -- Pointing to the failure of the House to pass the pension reform bill Saturday, House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) announced on the Floor the House would consider a stopgap budget bill when the House reconvenes. The House will reconvene Sunday at 1:00 p.m..

The House Appropriations Committee was to meet immediately after session to start the stopgap budget process, but the meeting is postpone to give Senate and House leadership the opportunity to meet.

Senate Republicans & Democrats, House Democrats and the Governor have all opposed a stopgap budget in the past (as of a few days ago at least).

Pension Bill

The House failed to pass the House-amended pension reform bill-- Senate Bill 1071 (Browne-R-Lehigh)-- by a vote of 52 to 149.  

Rep. Bill Adolph (R-Delaware), Majority Chair of the Appropriations Committee, said earlier in Committee Gov. Wolf would sign the bill.

Rep. Joe Markosek (D-Allegheny) opposed the bill in Committee saying it would cost taxpayers $2.3 billion over the next 30 years and only save the employee retirement funds $2.7 billion.  Click Here for an analysis of the pension bill by House Democrats.

House Democrats opposed reporting the bill out of the House Appropriations Committee, but it was reported out anyway by a vote of 22 to 15.

A House Fiscal Note and summary is available.

Tax Code Bill

The House voted 173 to 27 to nonconcur on House Bill 1198 (Dunbar-R- Westmoreland), the Tax Code bill.  A few minutes later, the Senate came back to session to insist on its amendments setting up a Tax Code conference committee on the taxes needed to fund the “agreed-to” $30.8 billion General Fund budget.

Senate Republicans earlier said they would only vote for the budget if it was accompanied by the pension reform bill, so it is unclear at this writing what impact the failure in the House will have on the “agreed-to” budget framework.

Rep. Bill Adolph, Majority Chair House Appropriations Committee, told PA Legislative Services: "I don't think anyone really knows what the tax package is going to be."

Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks) attempted to amend the bill to adopt a 3.2 percent severance tax on natural gas, but could not as a result of a procedural vote.

NewsClips:

AP: House Kills Pension Bill, Leaving Budget Deal In Tatters

House Rejects Pension Bill, Could Move Stopgap Budget

AP: Vote Looming, Tax Hike Details Fuzzy, May Not Happen Saturday

PLS: Markosek Says House Dems Never Agreed With Pension Bill

(Dec. 18, 6:15 p.m.) -- Gov. Wolf’s office announced Friday just before lunch they believe they have enough votes in the House for a tax bill to support the $30.8 billion General Fund budget “agreed to” by Senate Republicans and Democrats, House Democrats and his office before Thanksgiving.

House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) said he intends to bring the tax bill up for a vote on Saturday or Sunday.

Capitolwire.com reported Friday evening House Republican spokesman Steve Miskin confirmed the plan is to run all of the framework budget bills, including a Tax Code bill, either Saturday or Sunday this weekend, but with everything wrapped up - General Appropriations bill and all - by Sunday, hopefully.

Meanwhile, conservative Republicans like House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) and Sen. Scott Wager (R-York) are actively working against the tax package.

The Senate Friday passed its Tax Code bill-- House Bill 1198 (Dunbar-R- Westmoreland)-- and returned it to the House which may serve as the vehicle for the House vote on the “agreed-to” tax package.

While the details of the tax package have not yet been made public, the Associated Press is reporting it involves raising the Personal Income Tax from 3.07 to 3.3 percent, which would yield $700 to $800 million in added revenue.

Also expected to be part of the package, the AP said, are increases in taxes on cigarettes and banks.

Senate Republicans told the AP they believe the tax package can pass the Senate, as long as the pension reform bill is part of the package of budget-related bills on the Governor’s desk when the dust settles.

The House adjourned Friday after amending the Senate’s pension reform bill-- Senate Bill 1071 (Browne-R-Lehigh)-- several times.  The bill was then referred to the House Appropriations Committee. It is unclear, at this writing, whether the amendments are acceptable to the Senate.

The House also adjourned without any movement this week on the remainder of the “agreed-to” budget package from the Senate: the Fiscal Code bill-- House Bill 1327; the Liquor privatization bill- House Bill 1690; and the Education Code changes-- House Bill 530; all of which are in the House Rules Committee.

The House also didn’t move the the gaming bill-- House Bill 649 (Payne-R-Dauphin) regulating the online gaming industry-- Republicans said they need to fund their own budget proposal in the original House-passed version of House Bill 1460 (Adolph-R- Delaware). 

House Bill 649 remains on the House Calendar.  House Bill 1460 was amended by the Senate with the “agreed-to” General Fund budget and is in position for a final vote in the Senate.

The bottom line is this, after a week’s work, the House sent only one budget-related bill to the Governor-- House Bill 1322 (Kaufer-R-Luzerne) the Welfare Code vehicle (Senate Fiscal Note); amended a second bill-- the Senate-passed Administrative Code-- House Bill 941 (Regan-R- Cumberland)-- and sent it back to the Senate; and amended, but did not pass, the Senate’s pension reform bill-- Senate Bill 1071 (Browne-R-Lehigh).

Everything else has been a promise of things to come in resolving the budget impasse.

Over in the Senate, PLS reported Republicans are reviewing the changes made by the House to the Administrative Code bill-- House Bill 941 (Regan-R-Cumberland)-- and other bills.

The House adjourned until 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 19 with the promise of a vote sometime this weekend on the tax package. 

The Senate was scheduled to be in session on Saturday, but it may not be.

So passed Day 172 of the budget impasse.

Visit Here for background on what the last version of the “agreed-to” budget bills had in them for the environment.

NewsClips:

Wolf’s Office: $1 Billion Tax Bill Will Pass In Upcoming House Vote

PLS: Budget Impasse May, Possibly Be Over This Weekend

Lawmakers Said To Consider State Income Tax Hike

How Are Act 13 Drilling Impact Fees Spent Locally, Good Question

Franklin Twp Supervisors Spend Drilling Fees On Road Repairs

Drilling Impact Fees Used To Renovate Susquehanna County Courthouse

Green Efforts Could Hit Snag In PA Budget

Op-Ed: Proposed Budget Bill Isn’t Giveaway For Drillers

Budget Bickering Continues With No End In Sight

House Debate On PA Pension Changes Ends Abruptly

PLS: Budget Impasse To Enter Its Most Critical 24-Hour Period

Wolf, Allies Test House GOP Resolve Against Tax Increase

A Look At Budget Plan In Legislature

House GOP Eyes Interim Budget If Tax Plan Lacks Support

GOP Leaders Give Wolf 24 Hours To Find Votes For Taxes

Budget Impasse Headed Toward Some Sort Of Resolution

Gov,, Leaders Want Full Budget, Not Stopgap

Budget Talks Interesting But Yield No Deal

Dems Casts Turzai As Villain In Budget Gridlock

Free-Market Groups Targets Slush Funds Buried In Budget Plan

PLS: 1 Budget Bill Advances, Big Questions Still Linger

House Signals Start Of New Fight In 5-Month Budget Showdown

Wolf, House Rs Hopeful For A Budget This Week

End To Budget Impasse A Step Closer

Could This Be The Week For Budget?

Editorial: Fiscal Code Pollution

Allegheny Land Trust Forced To Borrow Amid Budget Impasse

Is 2015 Worst Year In PA Political History?


12/21/2015

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