Pennsylvania lawmakers brace for desperate push to balance budget
Published 8:15 am Monday, July 10, 2017
HARRISBURG — Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are bracing for a last-minute desperate push to get a series of budget bills to Gov. Tom Wolf before the governor must decide whether to accept an under-funded spending plan or take out his veto pen.
The Legislature passed a $32 billion spending plan on June 30 but lawmakers haven’t passed any bills that would close a shortfall that tops $2 billion. Wolf has 10 days to veto the legislation, sign it into law or allow it to become law without his signature. The deadline for that decision is today.
House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana County, told reporters Sunday that if there isn’t an agreement in place, Wolf should use his line-item authority to ax spending sufficiently to make the budget balanced.
Wolf, in his first year in office in 2015, initially vetoed the entire budget. In December, he used his line-item veto authority to hold up school funding to try to force the Legislature to increase spending. That move prolonged the budget standoff until March.
Lawmakers said they have provided Wolf with a couple options for balancing the budget. Reed said one plan would allow slots in bars, while other options would balance the budget without legalizing gambling in taverns.
“We have given the governor our last, best offer,” said state Rep. Kurt Masser, R-Northumberland County.
While gambling expansion has been the focus over the weekend, lawmakers have bandied about a number of other potential changes to try to generate more revenue. Those include a variety of changes to the state’s liquor laws. One plan would allow grocery stores to sell liquor in addition to wine and beer. Another would change the way alcoholic beverages purchased in restaurants and bars are taxed. It was unclear Sunday whether any of those liquor law changes are in the final mix.
Masser said that even if the governor gives the green light “it will take a Herculean effort” to get all of the bills passed on Monday.
State Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia County, said lawmakers in the Senate are still hoping they can get the job done before the governor must make a decision about whether to veto the spending plan.
“It is still the intent to finish the package of budget-related bills tomorrow,” Gordner said Sunday night. “If we can get a three-party agreement (between Senate and House Republicans and the governor) we can meet the deadline.”
Negotiations have largely been stalled over the question of how broadly the state should expand gambling. The state House approved a plan that would have allowed video slots in bars and social clubs. The state Senate has balked at the idea and countered with a plan that would create mini-casinos in parts of the state that lack one of the 12 full-size casinos opened since the state legalized them in 2004.
House members on Sunday still defended the idea of allowing slots in bars.
State Rep. Brad Roae, R-Crawford County, said it will be “unfortunate” if the gaming expansion doesn’t allow for slots in taverns.
“Local, family-owned businesses could benefit” if they are allowed to offer video slots, he said.
Proponents have said the slots in bars experience in Illinois suggests that Pennsylvania could generate as much as $300 million by regulating those type of games in this state.
“It’s the only gaming option that’s not really an expansion, it’s just regulating what’s already out there,” he said, because under Pennsylvania’s existing law, many bars and social clubs offer slots-type games described as games of skill instead of illegal games of chance. The state has not been taxing the activity but would under the proposal pushed by lawmakers in the House.
John Finnerty covers the Pennsylvania Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at jfinnerty@cnhi.com or @cnhipa on Twitter.