DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — It’s been more than 100 days since Pennsylvania’s budget was due.
Lawmakers returned to the floor Monday searching for common ground.
“I think you’re going to see the Senate over the next few weeks advance elements of the remaining pieces of a budget that need to be addressed,” said Majority Leader Senator Joe Pittman. “But, do it in a way where we think we agree across the aisle, not only in the Senate but in the House and with the governor.”
Both Republican and Democratic leaders say they are working to get money for essential services.
“Funding for hospitals, funding for EMS, and funding for nursing homes, these are three very critical components of public health [that] I think we can all agree need to be addressed in a timely manner,” Sen. Pittman said.
“We have an opportunity to work through these things and when we do come back for our session days we can hopefully be able to advance some of these things over the next couple of weeks,” said Democratic Senator Jay Costa, the chamber’s minority leader from Allegheny County.
That could take time, with those remaining parts being divided up into several pieces.
“When you have a fiscal code bill, for example, that’s got nine or 10 pieces or parts to it,” Sen Costa explained. “It’s sometimes a little more difficult to get to a consensus, so that’s where some of the roadblocks are.”
Education has been a major hurdle for the General Assembly, specifically the $100 million private school voucher program spearheaded by Republicans.
“The lifeline, or the voucher program, and the Level Up program that Democrats support are really the lynchpin to getting to a complete resolution here,” Sen. Costa said. “Until we reconcile those two differences, we’ll be at a logjam here.”
Republicans came to a bipartisan agreement with Governor Shapiro over the program earlier this year. It was vetoed when the rest of the budget was signed in August.
“That’s a critical piece of this, and we’re going to continue to have disagreements on this. I believe with House Democrats on that for the time being until the Governor and his party address their differences amongst themselves in the House chamber,” Sen. Pittman said.
By walking away from his promise to support the Republican effort, Gov. Shapiro was able to get House Democrats on board with most of the budget, it solidified most of the $45 billion spending plan for 2023-2024. It also allowed millions of dollars to begin flowing to counties and school districts just weeks before the start of the new school year.
“I think we’re moving forward the best we can in this divided government,” Sen. Pittman said. “We will continue to do so, certainly in the Senate.”
A timeline for the finalized budget is unclear, though Democrats and Republicans are sure progress can be made.
“I think we have to focus on what we can agree on,” the Majority Leader said.
“Some more work needs to be done,” Sen. Costa agreed. “I’m hopeful that as we move forward, we’ll be able to reach some resolution on some of these matters and move them back and forth between the House and Senate.”
State Senators did not pass any legislation Monday in regard to the budget. The chamber will reconvene Tuesday at 1 p.m.