HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania House Republican leaders told Gov. Tom Wolf they would push his budgetary tax package to the floor if he can show he has a majority of votes.
They said if Wolf cannot by Thursday afternoon, they would consider another stopgap budget, which Wolf in the past has opposed.
"We need a budget, not a stopgap," said Wolf.
Thus, Pennsylvania is in its 170th day without a fiscal 2016 budget with Wolf, a rookie Democratic governor, at odds with the GOP-dominated legislature. Wolf and Senate Republicans agreed on a $30.8 billion spending plan that includes a $350 million increase in basic education spending, though the revenue sources are still unclear.
Conservative factions in the House, led by Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Marshall Township, are pushing for a $30.3 billion version with a $150 million bump for education.
"[Wolf] needs to get 102 votes. It's his plan," Turzai told reporters Tuesday evening. That number represents a minimum simple majority.
Though not part of the budget bill itself, companion legislation including tweaks to the state's two major public pension plans are in play, as well as changes to the state system of liquor stores.
Possible bond rating backlash hovers over the budget debate. Last year, all three major rating agencies downgraded Pennsylvania, citing chronic budget imbalance and an unfunded pension liability estimated at up to $57 billion.
The impasse has especially burdened school districts and social-service agencies, who depend upon state reimbursements.
Moody's Investors Service rates Pennsylvania Aa3 with a negative outlook. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's rate them AA-minus, with stable outlooks.
"In the short term I think Pennsylvania needs to find ways to raise additional revenue to replenish its fund balance and to produce a balanced fiscal 2016 budget," said Paul Mansour, a managing director at Hartford, Conn, investment management firm Conning.
"Longer term the state needs to focus on ways to grow its economy at a pace equal to the national average."
