Updated: Gov. Wolf: General Fund Budget Bill To Become Law With Or Without A Revenue Package

Sunday evening, Gov. Wolf held a press conference to announce the General Fund budget bill-- Senate Bill 1073 (Browne-R-Lehigh)-- will become law with or without a revenue package to support it by midnight Monday, July 11.

If the Senate and House do not pass a package by midnight Monday, Gov. Wolf said he will allow the bill to become law without his signature, even though it is missing about $1.25 billion+ in revenue to support it.

In spite of his announcement, the Governor said he expects lawmakers to meet the midnight deadline.  Click Here to watch the announcement.

In reaction to the Governor’s announcement, House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) said, “Things aren’t that far apart and instead of starting from scratch [the governor’s announcement] is a much better approach and hopefully he can bring all sides together and get everything signed, sealed, and delivered and be done with it.”

At an earlier press briefing, Rep. Reed said there still was no agreement on a revenue package with any of the other Caucuses and several options were under consideration for moving the issue forward.  He said House Republicans are continuing to work with House Democrats to come to a bipartisan agreement.

Rep. Reed  said the Senate complicated the budget issue somewhat by still insisting pension reform be part of the final package of bills going to the Governor.  He quickly added, pension reform was an issue Senate Republicans needed to work out with House Democrats, since it was the Democrats that voted against the last reform bill-- Senate Bill 1071 (Browne-R-Lehigh).

Click Here for a summary of Senate Bill 1073.  Click Here for a spreadsheet from Senate Republicans showing differences between FY 2015-16 and FY 2016-17 Senate-passed budget.  Click Here for a Senate Fiscal Note and summary.   Click Here for a narrative summary by the House Democratic Appropriations Committee staff.

What’s Next

The House is scheduled to be in voting session on Monday and Tuesday starting at 11:00 a.m.

Before adjourning Sunday, the House did give its final approval to a hemp bill-- House Bill 967 (Diamond-R-Lebanon), not THAT kind of “hemp,” the industrial/agricultural kind of marijuana.  The bill now goes to the Governor for his action.

The Senate is scheduled to be in session on Monday, at this point, starting at 11:00 a.m.  It has already scheduled meetings of the Senate Appropriations and Rules and Executive Nominations committees.

NewsClips:

Thompson: Wolf To Let $31.5 Billion Spending Plan To Become Law

AP: Wolf To Let Budget Bill Become Law Despite Funding Questions

Couloumbis: Wolf To Let $31.5B Spending Plan Become Law

Original Article: State Budget Puzzle Just Got $97 Million  Harder, Still Working On Revenue Package

While legislative leadership worked this week to put together the four dimensional puzzle that is a $1.25 billion+ revenue package, the report came that FY 2015-16 ended with $97 million less than at least the House Republicans were counting on to balance the budget.

That may not seem like a lot, but with negotiators anywhere from $100 to $300 million apart in their discussions, that $97 million was more than a ripple.

House Republican Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) still maintains they are ready to vote a $1.25 billion revenue package, as soon as they get agreement from the other Caucuses.  $1.25 billion is what they believe is needed to balance the budget they passed in Senate Bill 1073 (Browne-R-Lehigh),

House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) repeats, a $1.36 billion revenue package is needed to balance the budget now on the Governor’s desk.

All week, options for a gross receipts tax on natural gas, borrowing from this or that state fund with a healthy balance-- the State Workers’ Insurance Fund being one, an increase in the bank shares tax and making this or that adjustment to a fee or tax (but not the Personal Income or Sales taxes) were moved on and off the negotiating table.

The trouble with this revenue package puzzle is, as Rep. Reed said last summer, “no one knows what the picture is” and it’s hard to finish a puzzle like that.  Ask any 5 year old.

There are still four primary sources of revenue on the table--

1. Expanded Gaming: $267 million for expanded gaming in House Bill 2150 (Dunbar-R- Westmoreland) (now in the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee, although there are other vehicles in the Senate), authorizing 6 new types of gaming, including iGaming, slots at airports and off-track betting parlors, although that might be changing.  Rep. Reed this week waived the addition of video poker machines ($200 million, maybe) again, even though it was defeated in the House before House Bill 2150 was passed;

2. Tax Amnesty: $129 million for tax amnesty in House Bill 1888 (Quinn-R- Montgomery), now in the Senate Appropriations Committee;

3. Tobacco Taxes:  $480 million increase in tobacco taxes, including new taxes on chewing, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products (the cigar exemption remains, maybe), which the House has not acted on yet in a Tax Code bill; and

4. Liquor Reform: $150 million in revenue from the liquor reforms already signed into law in House Bill 1690 (Turzai-R- Allegheny), a number of some said is an “optimistic” revenue estimate.

To move a revenue package into position, the Senate and House must act on at least Tax Code and Fiscal Code bills which may take a minimum of 1 or 2 days to get to the Governor.

They do have one quick vehicle for the Tax Code-- House Bill 1198 (Barrar-R- Delaware)-- that was part of the FY 2015-16 budget consideration.  A conference committee could be set up easily to amend and report out the bill and then it’s just an up or down vote in the Senate and House.

There are a whole flock of Fiscal Code bills in various positions in the Senate and House.  All they have to do is pick one.

And, of course, there’s also that “bipartisan” House pension reform bill-- Senate Bill 1071 (Browne-R-Lehigh)-- the Senate non-concurred in on June 23 that could be activated, if there is agreement on new pension language.

But, that’s a long shot.

Nonpreferred Appropriations Bills Signed

Gov. Wolf Friday signed into law 9 nonpreferred appropriations bills-- House Bills 2175 to 2184-- including:  House Bill 2178 (Markosek-D- Allegheny) State Gaming Fund (House Fiscal Note and summary)-- now Act 10A,  House Bill 2179 (Markosek-D-Allegheny) Workmen’s Compensation Fund (House Fiscal Note and summary)-- now Act 11A and House Bill 2180 (Markosek-D- Allegheny) Philadelphia Taxicab and Limousine Regulatory Fund (House Fiscal Note and summary)-- now Act 12A.

What’s Next

The House announced it would be in voting session July 10 (4:00 p.m.) and on July 11 and 12 (both at 11:00 a.m.). 

The Senate does not expect to return to voting session before Monday, July 11, unless budget legislation is finalized.

Both face a Monday deadline for getting the revenue package to Gov. Wolf for his action.

July 11 is the last day the Governor can take action on Senate Bill 1073 to either sign it or line-item veto the bill down to where it matches current state revenues.

We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Keep Up-To-Date

Crisci Associates will provide updates on budget news as it happens through the weekend through the PA Environment Digest Twitter Feed, Google+ Circle Green Works In PA and the PA Environment Daily Blog.

NewsClips:

AP: Big Budget Decisions On Tap As Lawmakers Return

AP: PA State Budget Stalemate, Where Things Stand

Swift: State’s Budget Process Abnormality Now Normal

Thompson: Lawmakers Try To Complete State Budget Work

AP: PA Budget Talks Enter Weekend As Decision Looms

No Budget Deal Yet, But House To Reconvene

Editorial: Time To Revisit Natural Gas Severance Fee

AP: Clock Ticks Down To Another Budget Decision Day For Wolf

AP: Budget Talks Enter New Week With No News On Deal

Swift: Pennsylvania Back In Budget Limbo

Swift: Audit Of Fish License Fees Spurs Debate

House Rs, Ds Locked On PA Budget Funding

Analysis: Still No Budget, But At Least They Had Fireworks

Crable: Pennsylvania Lags On Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

Peters Twp Gets State Gas Impact Fees

Elk County Awards 2 Student Scholarships With Drilling Fees

Related Stories:

June State Revenue Down $67.2 Million, Barely Above Estimates For FY 2015-16

Gaming Control Board: PA Slot Machine Revenue Up Over 2% In FY 2015-16

Rep. Petrarca Introduces Bill To Prevent Scheduled Gasoline Tax Increases

7/11/2016