Your birdbath isn’t the only thing that’s frozen over this week.  The major players in the effort to adopt a complete FY 2015-16 state budget spent another week frozen in the same positions.

A brief face to face with the Governor did not move things along.

Gov. Wolf was continuing his “Jobs That Pay, Government That Works” tour around the state, and stopped at Pittsburgh’s KDKA radio to repeat what he said before-- pass the “agreed-to” framework budget.

“It’s a compromise,” he said. “We got historic education investment with accountability, we had historic pension reform, historic liquor reform, and most importantly—for the first time in years, and this has been a bipartisan thing—the budget actually balanced. We actually had enough recurring revenue to make this budget balance.”

In an online video update on the budget Friday, Gov. Wolf said again the budget remains unfinished, adding Republican leadership is “on vacation.”

Note: Four of the five parties that agreed-to the most recent of three “agreed-to” budget frameworks think it’s mostly dead; the exception is Gov. Wolf.

Wolf also celebrated his first year in office this week saying he was proud of what he’s accomplished so far.

Senate Republicans meanwhile worried about the Department of Corrections running out of money by the end of the month as a result of Gov. Wolf’s line item veto of half their money for the year.

They reported Senate Bill 1106 (Browne-R-Lehigh) out of Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday to fill in the gap.  The thinking was, I guess, maybe the Governor would sign smaller pieces of the budget, perhaps.

Senate Democrats said, “no problem,” the Governor can fund them without any new legislation under his “health, safety and welfare” authority like he has all along with other state agencies.  Left unsaid, “Who needs a budget!”

All the Democrats, but Sen. Teplitz (D-Dauphin), voted against the bill coming out of Committee.

Another group of Senators headed by Elder vogel (R-Beaver), Majority Chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, is putting together a supplemental budget bill for the Department of Agriculture.

There will no doubt be others to highlight other line item vetoes made by Gov. Wolf.

Senate Republicans did not move the Fiscal Code bill-- House Bill 1327 (Peifer-R-Pike)-- saying there’s really nothing in the bill they need for the FY 2015-16 budget now in place, given Gov. Wolf’s line item vetoes.

In a separate comments, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre) urged Gov. Wolf and his colleagues in the House to come back to the negotiating table to finish a budget for this fiscal year.

Sen. Corman said he appreciated the Governor’s spokesperson saying the Governor isn’t  negotiating, but that doesn’t get to a final product.  Adding, the House isn’t onboard and they have to be brought onboard somehow. 

“None of us taking our marbles and going home is going to get this thing resolved,” said Sen. Corman.

Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York), leader of the conservative wing of the Senate Republicans and a big player in determining the next move by his Caucus, had harsh words for Gov. Wolf and his budget ideas.

“My job is to fight the war for all Pennsylvanians and protect middle-class citizens,” said Sen. Wagner. “It is time to take off the gloves with Gov. Wolf and get out on the field and settle this once and for all.

“We had him down on the floor with our foot on his throat and we let him up. Next time, we won’t let him up,” Sen. Wagner said.  “Welcome to the arena Gov. Wolf.”

Sen. Wagner’s comment brings to mind a 2014 quote from him when he was sworn into office.  He was asked whether it was time mend fences with the Senate Republican leadership after his special election where they supported a candidate against him.  He responded: "The bottom line is we beat them. ... Once you stab your opponent in the neck and they bleed to death, you don't keep stabbing them."

As “noted” above, House Republicans long ago (or it seems that way) declared the “agreed-to” budget framework plan they agreed-to all but mostly dead, since they, and particularly the House Democrats who also agreed to the “agreed-to” budget framework couldn’t come up with the votes needed for the “agreed-to” pension reform bill.

Getting pension reform is vital to the Senate Republicans before they would vote for any new revenue to fill out the “agreed-to” $30.8 billion General Fund budget framework.

Summing up months of back and forth on the budget, House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) said on a weekly TV news show--  Gov. Wolf likes “chaos and havoc” and “governs by anarchy.”  “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Next Week

Both the Senate and House return to session January 25, 26 and 27 and then break again until the week of February 8 when the Governor holds his second budget address, now on February 9--  Fastnacht Day, a.k.a. Fat Tuesday.

Since the Governor’s Budget Office did not do its usual mid-fiscal year update on the state budget in December, mainly because we didn’t have a budget,  the Independent Fiscal Office will continue with its own budget and revenue update briefing on January 27.  The IFO will also do its first FY 2016-17 revenue forecast.

NewsClips:

Analysis: Wolf: I Know What The Budget Reality Is

Wolf Video Q/A On Unfinished Budget Work

Newsmakers Video: Speaker Turzai On Budget Impasse

AP: Wolf: Changing Harrisburg Will Take Longer Than A Year

As Primary Approaches, Legislators Less Likely To Act On Budget

Swift: State Budget Stalemate Joining Epic Battles

PA Senate Ponders Next Move In Budget Impasse

Editorial: Wolf Should Forgo Big Splash On Next Budget

1/25/2016