Pa.+House+sends+budget+to+Corbett

= GOP fends off Democrats to pass bill that fulfills governor's on-time, no-tax-hike pledges = = = =By Tracie Mauriello and Laura Olson= =//Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette//= =//6/30/11//= = = = = = = = = =HARRISBURG -- After almost six hours of contentious debate, the state House late Wednesday sent Gov. Tom Corbett a $27.15 billion spending plan that allows him to keep his campaign promises of signing a budget on time and with no tax increases.= =Those factors made it a key victory for the new administration, though Mr. Corbett didn't get everything he wanted. He'll have to wait until fall for lawmakers to consider his highly touted plan to provide private-school vouchers to low-income children whose neighborhood public schools are under-performing.= =When Mr. Corbett signs that general-fund bill, likely later today, it will be the first on-time budget in nine years. It also will be the first time since at least 1970 that state spending will be less than the previous year.= =The spending bill passed the House Wednesday in a 109-to-92 vote that mostly followed party lines.= =A handful of related budget bills are still working their way through the Legislature. Those include a plan for how education dollars will be distributed to school districts.= =Democrats are unhappy with that distribution formula, saying that the poorest and most rural school districts will lose the most.= =They also have voiced concerns about a provision in the still-to-be-approved welfare code that they believe provides too much discretion to the administration to alter benefit eligibility and change other guidelines.= =Passage came over the objections of Democrats, who say the budget under-funds education, health care and human services. They complained that spending reductions will force school districts to raise local taxes in order to compensate for funding reductions.= =Republicans have an answer for that: legislation that would require voter approval for property tax hikes that exceed an inflationary index. That bill could come to a vote today -- that, too, over Democrats' objections.= =The property tax bill, combined with reductions in state funding, will be disastrous for schools, said Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Luzerne.= =This budget is "saying, 'We're not going to fund you from the state and, by the way, we're not going to let you get funding from the local level,' " she said.= =Republicans say the budget is responsible to taxpayers and reflects a struggling economy and the aftermath of billions in disappearing federal stimulus dollars.= ="In this budget, for a welcome change, the Pennsylvania taxpayer is a priority this year. We are sending a signal to the business community and to the taxpayers of the commonwealth that the years of overspending are being reversed," said Rep. Glen Grell, R-Cumberland.= =Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, echoed that sentiment, saying that change in spending policy was why it would be the first budget during his 13 years as a state lawmaker of which he would speak in support.= =Democrats wanted to fill budget holes by dipping into a revenue surplus estimated to be more than $650 million. Republicans resisted but in the end agreed to use at least $200 million of that to lessen some of the cuts to education and human services.= =During Wednesday's floor debate, GOP legislators argued that those seeking to use more of the excess revenues are ignoring upcoming costs in unemployment compensation debt, rising pension payments and potential court settlements.= ="I keep hearing from other speakers about this surplus that's sitting on the table," said Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth. "They're blind to the table that has $50 billion in looming liabilities on it."= =Meanwhile, Democrats accused Republicans of using accounting maneuvers to make the budget appear smaller than it is.= =About $100 million in education block grants for next year instead will be counted as part of the current year's budget. And the welfare agency could require additional funding mid-year if it is unable to find about $400 million in reductions.= ="This is a magician's budget," said Rep. Joe Markosek of Monroeville, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, adding that it relies on "hide-and-seek and slight of hand."= =Those minority members also reiterated their calls for a tax on Marcellus Shale gas drilling, a debate that will be pushed off until the fall. They pointed to that delay as a failure to include the state's most booming industry in the solution to Pennsylvania's $4.2 billion deficit.= =Instead, both the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will see further cuts under the GOP-negotiated budget.= =That drilling tax or fee debate will be joined on the fall to-do list by the discussion over crafting a school vouchers program. A last-minute push to reach agreement on a voucher plan failed to resolve differences between the House and Senate.= =Senate Education Chairman Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, who introduced a voucher bill in that chamber, said he was extremely disappointed to leave for the summer without completing that measure.= ="Kids trapped in failing schools remain trapped. Parents who wish to make educational choices for their children largely remain without assistance," Mr. Piccola said in a statement. "The monopoly system of public education -- good, bad, or indifferent and expensive -- remains in place."= =Read more: [] = = = = = =News= =home=