Wolf Exercises Line-Item Veto, Releases Emergency Money To School, Human Service Agencies
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS/AP) -- Governor Wolf has announced he is vetoing parts of a Republican-passed budget sent to him last week while allowing emergency funds to get to schools and social service agencies.
Unable to get a negotiated budget deal approved in the House, the state Senate last week sent Wolf a budget much leaner than he wants. On Tuesday, Wolf announced that he would sign some of that budget into law while using his line item veto power to nix other parts of it.
"At the same time I'm allowing emergency funding for our schools to get out. I'm also letting funding go out to our human service agencies and to our counties. But this is on an emergency basis only."
With regard to schools, the governor is withholding the last six months of basic education funding as he continues to criticize the budget sent to him last week as "garbage the Republican legislative leaders have tried to dump on us."
The bill resembles a GOP budget plan Wolf vetoed on June 30. It contains about $500 million less than a deal Wolf had negotiated with Republican leaders. Both proposals required unspecified tax increases.
Republican leaders scaled down that plan last week after a bill to reduce state pension costs stalled in the GOP-controlled House.
Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason said in a statement Tuesday that Wolf's June veto of the budget "needlessly plunged our school districts and non-profits into a six-month crisis." He accused Wolf of making special interests his top priority.
"It is time for Tom Wolf to join with Republicans in enacting a fiscally responsible budget that puts our Commonwealth on the right track for the future," Gleason said.
Wolf called on lawmakers to return to the Capitol and continue work on a final budget.
Governor Wolf's budget action allows Philadelphia schools to operate beyond the end of next month.
Schools superintendent William Hite has said the district would run out of money on January 29, without funding from the state budget. The district has already borrowed $525 million this year to keep the doors open. Hite says it's not immediately clear how much money the district would get from Governor Wolf's emergency appropriation. But Hite says by providing half of the year's basic education subsidy, the governor's action delays the deadline.
"We've been operating this year with a lot of unanswered questions. This answers one question: Whether or not we will be able to go beyond January 29. The answer is yes, we now can," said Hite.
But there are plenty of unanswered questions, including how long beyond January 29 -- and when will the district be able to pay back the millions it borrowed.
KYW's Tony Romeo and Mike DeNardo contributed to this report.
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