(The Center Square) – After another round of votes on Tuesday, lawmakers are no closer to breaking the six-week gridlock on Pennsylvania’s overdue budget.
This time, the Senate returned after a six-week reprieve to advance a $47 billion stopgap spending plan that level-funds most of state government while leaders negotiate the contested aspects: how the commonwealth will afford more money for schools and public transit without worsening a multi-billion-dollar shortfall.
“This budget is grounded in reality and the reality is that we cannot spend money that we do not have,” said Sen. Kristin Philips-Hill, R-Jacobus. “The special interests who are pushing for more funding forget who signs the back of the checks – the taxpayers of our commonwealth.”
It’s far from the $51.5 billion Gov. Josh Shapiro said he wanted to spend in February, which House Democrats later approved. Since then, the Republican-majority Senate has said the proposal is dead on arrival.
“Today the Senate passed a responsible short-term budget that immediately releases funding for schools, nursing homes and human services while also advancing a comprehensive transportation plan that supports mass transit and roads,” said President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Greensburg. “Our proposal exceeds Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan using only existing funds. Pennsylvania is at a critical crossroads financially. Senate Republicans have put forward a solution that protect taxpayers, and Gov. Shapiro and House Democrats still have not answered what taxes are they willing to raise on Pennsylvanians.”
Democrats in the Senate, however, said Tuesday that by disregarding Shapiro’s proposal, their stopgap measure accomplishes nothing.
“It ignores the proposal the governor made,” said Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia. “It does not fund our schools. It does not address the increases in the education funding that have been mandated by the courts. It does not address the transit needs that are desperately needed and we should vote no.”
The bill passed the upper chamber along a party-line vote. It awaits action in the House, which has no scheduled session days until Sept. 22.
Democratic leaders, who control the voting calendar in the lower chamber, said in a joint statement that “the Senate finally returned to Harrisburg – six weeks later – but they failed to do their job.
“This budget does not fulfill our constitutional obligation to adequately and equitably fund our public schools and it fails to support critical programs and services such as mass transit. We have a multi-billion-dollar surplus and the governor presented real opportunities to grow our revenues, which the Senate has ignored. We will continue to work with the governor and the Senate toward a real solution that moves Pennsylvania forward.”
