House alarm

The state budget needs lower chamber action

The state Senate has passed a revenue package, and the House needs to vote on it or come up with its own. Until then, the state gets closer each day to running out of money to pay all of its bills. Despite the risk in pushing the budget stalemate to the brink — service cuts anyone? — the House seems in no hurry to act.

House leaders must understand that Pennsylvanians want the budget matter settled sooner rather than later. They should recall members to Harrisburg as soon as possible and work with the Senate and Gov. Tom Wolf to close the deal. Otherwise, House members will exacerbate a dysfunctional budget process.

In a replay of previous budget sagas, the fiscal year got off to a rocky start. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a budget of nearly $32 billion on June 30, but it lacked a revenue package, meaning lawmakers delivered a spending plan but no means of covering those expenses. Mr. Wolf, a Democrat, allowed the budget to become law without his signature.

A month later, there’s still no revenue package, no way to cover a $1.5 billion deficit from the past fiscal year and no plan for averting a projected $700 million shortfall in the current one. Treasurer Joe Torsella has been telling everyone who will listen that the state could run short as early as the end of August. Pennsylvanians would face service cuts, and Mr. Torsella said he would have to begin prioritizing the payment of bills.

The 2015-16 budget stalemate lasted nine months, inconveniencing residents and financially crimping school districts and social-service agencies. There’s no need to repeat that scenario or let it come close to materializing.

More than a week ago, House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Marshall, tried to cobble together a revenue package without tax increases of any kind, proposing instead to borrow money and divert it from specialized funds. The idea fell flat, even among fellow Republicans, and the Senate on Thursday passed a package that includes a severance tax on gas drillers, expanded taxes on utility bills and a borrowing. There also are plans to expand gambling.

The Senate’s package may not be what House leaders want, but it’s a starting point. Despite the Senate’s action, House leaders have told members only that they would be called back sometime before August’s end. They have also said they won’t be rubber-stamping the Senate’s work.

None of that sounds like hustling. The House needs to show a sense of urgency because time really is of the essence.