HARRISBURG — With Pennsylvania facing a looming cash crunch, the state House of Representatives worked late into the night Wednesday to pass its gambit to end a months-long budget impasse.
But Gov. Tom Wolf called the revenue plan “irresponsible,” and signaled that it won’t offset the need for him to make difficult cuts to the state budget as early as Friday.
“There is some real hardship for people and institutions that people in this building really care about, and the people of Pennsylvania really care about,” the Democratic governor told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Philadelphia Inquirer during an unrelated interview Wednesday.
The plan, pushed by House Republicans, seeks to close a $2.2 billion deficit in part by selling a portion of the state’s landmark tobacco settlement fund, expanding gaming and pulling money from special funds that pay for things such as mass transit, environmental projects and parks.
It passed shortly before 10 p.m. with a vote of 103-91 and moves now to the Senate.
House Republican leaders have said the plan provides an alternative to tax increases and avoids a new tax on gas drillers that they fear would harm the industry. Democrats, in the House and in the governor’s office have said the plan lacks recurring sources of revenue needed to solve a larger, more systemic budget imbalance.
The proposal will likely encounter opposition from some in the Senate.
“I think it would be tough [to pass],” said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills.
To some extent, House Republicans expect that. Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, said he contacted Senate leaders last week. He said before the House vote Wednesdayevening, “We’re going to move forward with this with the expectation we get to 102 votes and then we’ll enter into the next round of negotiations and hopefully finish that in a very timely fashion.”
Mr. Wolf said he was optimistic that the House and the Senate would come to some sort of compromise by Monday, but he would not elaborate.
“Again,” he said, “there is no guarantee.”
The Senate in July passed a revenue package that would balance the budget the Legislature passed on June 30 through a mix of borrowing and new and increased taxes, including a levy on natural gas drilling. Mr. Wolf has said he supports the Senate’s proposal, but tax-averse House Republicans have rejected it.
What happens in the Legislature over the next few days will greatly affect what cuts, if any, Mr. Wolf has to make.
Treasurer Joe Torsella, also a Democrat, has warned that the state’s primary bank account is expected to careen toward zero, forcing Mr. Wolf to decide which bills to delay and which expenses to forgo.
Mr. Wolf said he had “taken some steps” to cover the state through the weekend. Absent a revenue package, the governor said he expects that Standard & Poor’s would likely call Monday to announce that it would downgrade the state’s credit rating, making it more expensive for the state to borrow money.
Mr. Wolf said he expects to know more Friday about what specific spending he might cut.
“If they’re going to force this issue,” he said, “I will manage the financial situation as best I can.”
First Published: September 14, 2017, 12:30 a.m.
Updated: September 14, 2017, 2:02 a.m.
