With a budget deal seemingly out of reach for the week, state Senators left Harrisburg Tuesday, marking another year the fiscal plan will miss the end-of-June deadline set by state law.
Democrats were quick to say they'd rather finalize the deal before shuffling off for this weekend's Independence Day barbecues. In a press conference, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate pinned the missed deadline on Senate Republicans for declining to return Wednesday.
"The bottom line is they are not serious about getting a budget done," said Senate Democratic leader Jay Costa. "They're slow-walking this process for weeks and weeks, and we're calling them on it."
But Senate Republican leader Joe Pittman, who called the recess without a scheduled return date, said a deal could be reached as soon as next week.
"We will meet in the middle," Pittman told colleagues. "We will conclude this process, I believe, in the next several days with a responsible product."
Governor Josh Shapiro has proposed a more than $53.2 dollar plan, though Republicans have balked at that level of spending, citing a more than $4 billion operating deficit and at-risk rainy-day fund.
Shapiro's proposal spends more than the state anticipates receiving from tax revenue and other sources. If the trend continues, the resulting deficits are projected to deplete the rainy-day fund — which Republicans say should be reserved for emergencies and one-shot expenses — within two years.
"If we're spending that money on one-time investments, that's one thing, but when you're building that into the cost of recurring line items, it's going to be gone in a couple years anyway," said Republican House leader Jesse Topper. "We're trying to be responsible, and the rainy day is a part of that."
Democrats, however, say the state has some room to spend since this year there's nearly $1 billion more coming in than expected. And they'd like to add in Shapiro's money-raising proposals to legalize and tax recreational marijuana and slot-like skill game machines, per a recent state Supreme Court ruling.
It's not clear whether skill-games revenue will be part of the budget or not. And on Tuesday, top budget negotiators from both parties declined to comment on how much they may agree to spend.
Topper said negotiators have been in near-constant contact, even when they're not in Harrisburg. Of the Senate's decision to recess, he said, "This is much ado about nothing."
"As a guy who was on the phone for hours and hours over the weekend talking about the budget, talking to all the parties involved, that's how these things get done," Topper said.
Costa said the Democrats are still awaiting a reasonable response from Republicans after the House approved Shapiro's plan in April. On Monday, the Senate gutted the House budget bill and has yet to send over its own.
"There's not been a fair compromise proposed," Costa said. "We're still waiting … to understand exactly where things are at from the Republicans."
School districts, counties and nonprofits, which rely on state funds, begin to feel fiscal pressure when a budget impasse lasts one month or more. House Appropriations chair Jordan Harris said on Monday he felt confident that this year a deal would come together before that strain was felt.
House Democratic leader Matt Bradford said last year's long delay, resulting in hundreds of organizations taking out loans to cover missed state payments, should have been a signal to act faster this time.
"A lot of us thought we learned the lesson of last year," he said. "We are here on the last day of the fiscal year, but not the last day of the week, and the Senate is throwing in the towel already."
Natalie Javitt is a summer reporting intern with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association.
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