Pa. House Speaker taking heat for budget stalemate

Tongue in cheek, Erin Kramer walked into Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai’s McCandless office Wednesday morning with a packed breakfast.

That’s what parents do to get their children out of bed and motivated, she said, so maybe it will work for Mr. Turzai, R-Marshall, who has become the face of the Republican-controlled Legislature’s stalemate over the state’s $32 billion budget. With the House in recess until the end of August without a final plan to pay for the budget, Ms. Kramer, executive director of activist group One Pennsylvania, wanted to offer the speaker a ride to work a bit earlier than scheduled.

“I brought my Mom-mobile, my Chevy hatchback,” Ms. Kramer said. “We’re going to invite [Mr. Turzai] to go to Harrisburg. I’m happy to drive. I have an E-ZPass.”

When asked if he wanted to comment on the protesters’ claims that they were there to tell Mr. Turzai to “get up, get out of bed,” House GOP spokesman Steve Miskin said, “No, that’s ludicrous.”

Mr. Turzai commented previously about the budget. His comments offer insight into the frustrations behind trying to pass a revenue package, as pressures mount from opponents who fear a repeat of the state’s chaotic impasse of 2015.

It can be difficult to track the ins and outs of spending negotiations, but a few things are clear: The $32 billion budget passed right after the fiscal year started July 1, and since then Republican leadership hasn’t been able to plug a $2 billion hole in it.

As early as February, Mr. Turzai was foreshadowing a fight over the budget. In an oped, he wrote the state is “spending money we don’t have and trying to replace it with money we can’t find,” rejecting any tax hike to alleviate the state’s budgetary problems. But it appeared as if the legislator expected the state budget to be complete by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, and he said as much in May. He expressed his confidence amid talk that it was too early to announce a run for governor to unseat Democrat Tom Wolf, adding, “I think Pennsylvania is looking for somebodywho has a history of getting stuff done, and I’m that person.”

He was right that the budget was technically done by the start of the new fiscal year, but without a plan to afford it. About 18 days into the stalemate, Mr. Turzai pulled the House GOP from bipartisan discussions over raising taxes to pay for the budget, telling reporters he doubted any tax increase could pass the Legislature, and doubling down on old plans to raise money: borrowingfrom special funds that subsidize everything from farmland preservation to 911 call centers.

“The House as a body has passed expanded gaming and wine and spirits [privatization] legislation that provides significant revenue for a budget,” Mr. Turzai said, later adding, “We’ve been talking about a no-tax increase budget since April.”

The speaker called a special session of the GOP caucus on July 22 but sent members home after four hours and announced the House would wait to see what revenue proposals come from the Senate or governor. Some worried that Mr. Turzai’s actions would set back negotiations by weeks on a plan that was alreadywell past its due date.

With some Republican members wanting a severance tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production, Mr. Turzai said he didn’t want to “bail out” the Senate or the governor but would be “ready to listen” if the Senate passed a tax bill.

“We’ve done our job,” Mr. Turzai said, noting that the House passed a proposal in April. “They need to provide their proposals.”

That’s what the Senate did onJuly 27, narrowly approving a plan to tax natural gas drilling and raise or impose new taxes on consumers’ telephone, electric and gas bills. But the House leadership — not eager to approve any new taxes — said it would return sometime before the end of August to debatethe Senate’s package.

House Republicans, who have a majority in their chamber, have been discussing the Senate bills on the phone and in person.

“Members and leaders are having a number of discussions looking at alternatives,” Mr. Miskin said. He added later, “There doesn’t seem to be support [for the Senate package].”

Speaker Turzai and Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, have been included in budget discussions, Mr. Miskin said.

Exactly what the House Republicans’ alternatives would be or whether their leaders, who control the House calendar, would allow a vote on the bills passed by the Senate remains to be seen. Mr. Miskin said he expected any proposals from his caucus would include some revenue options that didn’t involve taxes.

The group at Mr. Turzai’s office Wednesday was calling on the representative to convene another special House session — similar to the one in July — to finish the plan.

The House is scheduled to return for a regular session Sept. 11, but members remain on call. Representatives were told to prepare for a possible return this month, but a date for that hasn’t been set.