Categories: Pennsylvania News

Budget talks not budging before deadline, Pa. Senate majority leader says

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — This year’s state budget is due June 30, and one lawmaker says it’s going to be late.

“We have seen this movie before,” said Senate Republican Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana). “And on July 1, the sun will come up.”

But it won’t shine on a newly-enacted budget, Pittman said. Talks have been slow and differences wide.

And if, as Governor Josh Shapiro proposed, there’s $2 billion more for Medicaid on top of this year — the budget well has run dry.

But Pittman said don’t call it a cut.

“I’m talking about containing the growth of spending,” Pittman said. “That containing the increased growth of spending, that’s what I’m talking about.”

House Democrats say they’re working to pass Shapiro’s priorities.

The governor had a response to Pittman: “We have a responsibility to make some tough choices, to compromise, to get this done and we’re going to get it done.”

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There are some things lawmakers can agree on.

Pittman said skills games need to be taxed and regulated. There are multiple proposals to do just that, they just disagree on how to get there and by how much.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a matter of public safety at this point,” Pittman said. “We’re increasingly seeing these so-called mini casinos pop up across the state. We’re continuing to see increased amounts of violence and robberies in these casinos, so-called casinos.”

Still, discussions have been bogged down by unanswered questions: How much to tax them? Who gets them? Who regulates them?

Pittman added recreational marijuana is off the table, even though the governor’s budget is counting on a few hundred million.

Pittman said he prefers a fully completed budget to a six month spending plan, but anything is possible.

“I don’t think the people of Pennsylvania will see any notable difference in their daily lives,” he said.

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