Wolf Expected to Veto GOP Budget

Gov. Wolf, center, during happier times at the Legislature.

Looks like Harrisburg may blow past Tuesday’s June 30 deadline for a state budget.

The GOP-controlled legislature worked through the weekend with the House passing its own $30.1 budget on Saturday and a Senate committee giving its approval Sunday night. But Gov. Wolf sent signals he would veto the bill, which includes none of his ideas for education funding or taxing the Marcellus shale, two of his big priorities.

“Right now, there is nothing of the Governor’s priorities in this budget,” Sen. Daylin Leach, a Democrat, told Harrisburg’s Fox 43. “He will not sign it.”

“We simply don’t have the money,” countered Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman. “This (GOP proposal) is a budget which spends what we have.”

Wolf’s spokesman, Jeffrey Sheridan, told reporters that the GOP proposal is built on one-time funding “gimmicks.”

“The Republican budget is built on more than $1.5 billion in one-time revenues,” Sheridan said in an email. “Their budget continues the failed policies and gimmicks of the past four years that have led to everyday families struggling, underfunded schools, credit downgrades, and rising property taxes.”

PennLive reports: “Republicans, meanwhile, argued that any new spending must be paid for and that the $30 billion House proposal avoids tax increases.”

So what happens if Pennsylvania hits the deadline without a budget?

“Administration officials and legislative aides say the state can continue to operate without a budget – and without noticeable interruption to state services – for at least several weeks,” the Inquirer reports. Problems would arise if the stalemate goes longer.

The full Senate is expected to vote on the House budget proposal on Tuesday.