Proposed bill would suspend pay for governor, lawmakers if state budget isn’t passed

(WHTM) — It certainly seems the pressure is building on Pennsylvania lawmakers to get the budget job done. Counties are sounding the alarm to negotiators, and one lawmaker said if they can’t get money out to the people who need it, then they shouldn’t get any either.

“It’s disheartening,” said Rep. Jim Haddock (D-Luzerne). “Here we are, 55, 56 days later, and we don’t have a budget, and people are complacent about it.”

To break the complacency and shake up the process, Haddock is sponsoring a bipartisan bill to suspend the pay of lawmakers, the governor and the lieutenant governor if a budget isn’t done.

“Once it’s signed by the governor, we would get our back pay, so we wouldn’t lose any money, but we would feel the pain of not getting paid,” said Haddock.

Increasingly, pain is being felt.

“We are very frustrated and concerned,” said Indiana County Commissioner Sherene Hess, who is the president of the County Commissioners Association, which sent a harshly worded letter to the governor and lawmakers calling the undone budget irresponsible, adding, “We’re not telling you how to do your job, but do your job.”

Kids, seniors and veterans, the letter argued, are most hurt by the standoff.

“We’re telling people, look, we have to suspend their own pay,” said Hess. “We’re willing to do it.”

Such proposals have been introduced before, but have never passed. When asked about the likelihood that the bill will actually move and pass, Haddock answered, “Not good… I hope more people, I hope every school director, I hope every school teacher, I hope every parent says, ‘Yeah, suspend your pay, god darn it.'”