Pennsylvania Governor Relents After 9-Month Budget Impasse
Source: Associated Press
Pennsylvania's Democratic governor backed off his veto threat Wednesday on the GOP's $6.6 billion no-new-taxes spending package, ending nearly nine months of partisan gridlock that brought warnings that schools and agricultural extension offices could close.
The package will become law Sunday night, leaving Illinois as the only state still without a budget in place for the current fiscal year.
Gov. Tom Wolf had received increasing pressure from Democratic lawmakers to relent on this veto threat, and some raised the possibility of voting with majority Republicans to override Wolf.
Still, Wolf insisted that the budget remains out of balance and underfunds crucial needs, and that the state continues to need a major tax increase to wipe out a damaging long-term deficit.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pennsylvania-governor-relents-month-budget-impasse-37872095
By MARK SCOLFORO AND MARC LEVY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARRISBURG, Pa. Mar 23, 2016, 1:26 PM ET
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)You get three guesses. The first two don't count.
Gomez163
(2,039 posts)Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)get ur economic death spiral all wound up tight!
BumRushDaShow
(128,844 posts)and line-item vetoed the next one they sent last fall.
And at this point, he is not signing what is left - but it will automatically go into effect if he doesn't veto it.
Here's some more info on this outside of the usual "but he CAVED" bullshit in this thread -
Wolf received the $6.6 billion no-new-taxes spending package on Thursday. He had 10 days to sign it or veto it or it lapses into law. That deadline is Sunday.
Wolf's announcement comes on the eve of the Easter holidays and three hours after dozens of school officials held a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda asking him to end the agony and bring them financial salvation by signing the budget.
Wolf has also faced pressure from Democratic lawmakers to sign the Republican majority's $30 billion budget. The budget increases education spending as Wolf would like but does not include any tax increases would like to close a deficit of at least $1.5 billion for the 2016-17 fiscal year.
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pa-budget-wolf-legislature-schools-20160323-story.html
More: http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/03/at_democratic_leaders_request.html
When people say "voting matters", they are correct. He was able to hold off as long as he could having been put in at the top of the ticket here in PA only to face a majority-GOP state legislature... And changing that legislature is what people need to do by getting off their asses and voting.