HARRISBURG — The state House late Wednesday passed a $45.6 billion spending bill that will go to the desk of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who incensed Republicans by saying he would veto a piece of it devoted to a controversial scholarship program.
The bill already has been approved by the Senate. A statement from Mr. Shapiro earlier in the day indicated he would sign the measure, pushing the state close to having a fully approved budget in place for the 2024 fiscal year that began Saturday.
But Mr. Shapiro also said he would line-item veto a $100 million piece of the bill that would fund a voucher-style scholarship program. It would let students in low-performing public schools attend private schools — a concept Mr. Shapiro supported during his campaign last year despite its unpopularity with many Democrats. Mr. Shapiro’s staff also agreed to it during negotiations with Republicans who control the Senate.
Many Republicans had expressed confidence in Mr. Shapiro’s support of the scholarship program before he issued his statement Wednesday. Rep. Seth Grove, R-York and the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, appeared shocked soon after Mr. Shapiro’s change of position.
“I have never, ever in my life seen a governor get a major win that he has been fighting for and then veto it,” Mr. Grove said. “It is historic in its stupidity.”
The vote on the spending bill was 117-86, with 15 Republicans joining all Democrats in support of the measure. It came on the fifth day of the fiscal year and followed a statement from the leader of the Democratic majority in the House, Rep. Matthew Bradford, that a Senate-approved bill setting up the scholarship program would not pass the House.
Mr. Shapiro said it was not wise to hold up the rest of the budget.
“Our Commonwealth should not be plunged into a painful, protracted budget impasse while our communities wait for the help and resources this commonsense budget will deliver,” he said.
The general appropriations bill passed late Wednesday is only one in a package of bills that typically are passed by the House and Senate, then signed by the governor, for a fully approved budget to be in place. Republicans, reacting to Mr. Shapiro backing away from the so-called Pennsylvania Award for Student Success program, indicated that it might jeopardize some of the governor’s other budget priorities.
Mr. Shapiro cited a new opinion from a lawyer for his administration that found he could not enact the $100 million PASS program without passage of separate “enabling” legislation — the bill that Mr. Bradford, D-Montgomery, said could not pass the House. Mr. Grove said there were many Shapiro-favored items in the overall spending bill that met the same description. Among others, he named the Whole-Home Repairs program, Level Up, Parent Pathways, and historically disadvantaged business assistance.
“Hopefully the governor will reconsider his positions,” Mr. Grove said.
The proposed PASS program would set up a fund in the state Treasury to give taxpayer-funded scholarships to families of students in the state’s lowest-performing public schools, allowing them to enroll in private schools.
“Knowing that the two chambers will not reach consensus at this time to enact PASS, and unwilling to hold up our entire budget process over this issue, I will line-item veto the full $100 million appropriation and it will not be part of this budget bill,” Mr. Shapiro said in his statement.
This is Mr. Shapiro’s first set of budget negotiations as governor, after a 2022 campaign heavy on appeals to Republicans and a career in elected office that started as a state representative. Mr. Grove said he didn’t know how Republicans could work on a budget with Mr. Shapiro in the future.
“How do you trust him with anything he says?” Mr. Grove said.
In his statement, Mr. Shapiro said, “Now, we stand at an impasse largely over one provision of this budget, PASS Scholarships, a proposal I support that has been passed by the Senate but one that Leader Bradford has made clear does not have the support of the House.”
Despite his veto declaration, Mr. Shapiro also appeared to hold open the door for the program. He said Mr. Bradford “has given me his word” that he will consider “additional education options” — including the PASS program, an Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program and an Education Improvement Tax Credit program.
A top Republican in the Senate noted last week that his party worked line-by-line with Mr. Shapiro on the spending bill for which the governor now says he would exercise a line-item veto.
A spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland and a major supporter of the scholarship policy, said Ms. Ward would have no immediate comment. A spokesperson for Sen. Scott Martin, R–Lancaster and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, made a similar statement.
“I’m disappointed Governor Shapiro backed away so quickly,” said Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland. He said “chronic under-education” in low-performing schools must be confronted and families “trapped” in such schools were counting on state government.
“They deserve more than a line-item veto,” Mr. Nelson said.
The bill that laid out how the proposed PASS program would work passed the Senate on June 29 in a 29-21 vote, with Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, joining all Republicans supporting it. Mr. Bradford’s statement appeared to slam the door on any House consideration of the measure.
Ford Turner: fturner@post-gazette.com
First Published: July 5, 2023, 8:16 p.m.
Updated: July 6, 2023, 9:37 a.m.