No end in sight to Harrisburg budget follies
Here’s a suggestion for our friends in Harrisburg: How about we take down that beautiful, shiny dome atop the state Capitol and replace it with a big top.
That’s right, folks. Barnum & Bailey is back in town.
Welcome to governing, Pennsylvania-style.
In case you haven’t been paying attention – and we can only assume our elected representatives hope that is the case – Pennsylvania finds itself in a bit of a fiscal crisis.
We know, you’ve heard this all before. It’s not a bad dream. It’s bad governing.
Back at the end of June, as mandated by the state constitution, the Legislature signed off on a $32 billion budget. Unfortunately, they could not agree on a method to pay for it, and a $2 billion-plus deficit has been looming over the state ever since.
The state Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, a few weeks later passed a funding plan that relied on a slew of new taxes including the state’s first-ever severance tax on natural gas drillers.
Just one problem. The state House – which is also controlled by Republicans – wanted no parts of any tax hikes. They dug in their heels and refused to consider the Senate plan.
Democrats? Well, they just sort of sat back and watched this Republican tug of war play out. Until Wednesday. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who supported the Senate plan but has not exactly been out front on this issue since July, said he’s tired of waiting for House Republicans to take action.
It’s enough to drive a man to drink.
Or, in Wolf’s case, to raid the piggy bank of the state Liquor Control Board. The governor indicated he would “borrow” profits from the state’s booze biz to patch the state budget.
Yep, it sounds like all that revenue raised by the LCB that Republicans in the Legislature have been trying to turn over to private enterprise might just come in handy.
All of this comes after a flurry of ideas on how to raise the money offered up in the House went nowhere.
First, early in the week, there was an indication the House would get behind a new tax on storage facilities and commercial warehousing. That went nowhere.
Then Republican leaders floated a hefty hike in the state’s hotel tax. The increase would boost the levy from 6 percent to 11 percent. In the process it would give the state’s two anchor cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, an unwanted lofty status. They would rank No. 1 and 2 in the nation for hotel taxes. As you might expect, tourism officials and chamber of commerce types were not enthralled by the move.
Now it looks like talks are back at ground zero.
Don’t point the finger of blame at the Delaware County Republicans. They bucked their party leadership in voting to move a Marcellus Shale severance tax package out of committee to the House floor, where it could get a vote by the full assembly. That move failed. Rep. Steve Barrar, R-160, of Upper Chichester, is among House Republicans who believe it is now time to hear from the full House on a severance tax on natural gas.
“It’s time to give the Legislature the chance to vote yes or no,” Barrar said. “If it fails because of a lack of votes, then that’s the process.”
The state Senate was already on board. Their funding plan included a slew of new taxes, including the new levy on the Marcellus Shale folks. That measure was championed by Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-26, of Springfield, and other moderates from southeastern Pennsylvania.
Every member of the Delco House delegation voted in favor of putting a similar natural gas severance tax in front of the full House. It didn’t matter. It still failed. This now falls square in the lap of Republican House Speaker Mike Turzai. The Allegheny Republican and Speaker of the House continues to lead a band of conservative Republicans in the House who are adamantly opposed to any new severance tax on natural gas.
In the meantime, the clock is ticking.
The state’s credit rating has already been downgraded once in this debacle.
Now things are about to get even worse.
The ongoing budget standoff has placed aid for the state’s five state-related universities in jeopardy.
At stake is $600 million in aid to Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln, as well as Penn’s veterinary school at New Bolton.
So Wolf is ready to skim off $1.2 billion in profits from the LCB. The honchos who run the state’s booze business indicate they are at least willing to sit down and talk with the governor about the plan.
The governor also is not ruling out possible cuts, including trimming the state’s workforce. He indicated he would do his best to protect other crucial services, such as education funding, senior programs, opioid-addiction programs and economic improvement efforts.
House leaders need to do the job they were elected to do. Instead of worrying about the 2018 election, when every state rep will be on the ballot, they need to focus on the 2017 budget.
It’s only three months past due.