Pennsylvania governor vetoes part of budget, OKs school cash

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf scolded Republican lawmakers on Tuesday as he rejected parts of a $30.3 billion state budget plan that's already a record six months overdue, but he freed up more than $23 billion in emergency funding.

The Democrat said at a news conference at the Capitol that the Republican-backed proposal falls short and lawmakers “simply left town before finishing their jobs."

However, he said he will release funds so schools and social services can stay open.

“In doing this, I'm expressing the outrage that all of us should feel about the garbage the Republican legislative leaders have tried to dump on us," he said of his line item veto. “This budget is wrong for Pennsylvania. And our legislators — the folks we elected to serve us — need to own up to this. They need to do their jobs."

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 said the latest budget plan doesn't balance and doesn't make necessary investments in education.

He urged lawmakers to return to Harrisburg to reach a compromise.

“Let's get back to work to finish the job you almost finished last week," he said.

School districts, social service programs, county and municipal governments have been forced to furlough workers, curtail programs and borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to make ends meet during the budget standoff.