Budget process remains the same
HARRISBURG – The 55 freshmen state legislators who came to Harrisburg in January promised major changes in the way the Legislature operates. The newcomers’ arrival brought new House and Senate rules ending late-night voting sessions and requiring a cooling off period before casting final votes on bills.
But when it comes to passing a state budget on time, it’s pretty much business as usual.
State lawmakers missed Saturday’s midnight budget deadline for a fifth straight year.
Disagreements with Gov. Ed Rendell over transportation funding and other initiatives will delay a vote on the budget until at least this coming week.
The prospect of another tardy budget had some freshmen fuming.
Rep. Sue Helm, a Dauphin County Republican, said passing the budget on time should be a top priority.
Helm disputed Rendell’s claim that most people could care less if June 30 comes and goes without a budget.
“Like many of my fellow freshmen, I was elected to help change the way business is conducted in Harrisburg,” Helm said in a prepared statement. “A tremendous step in that direction would be for us to meet our legal obligation to pass a budget by the end of June.”
But several freshmen were hoping for leniency from constituents.
Rep. John T. Galloway, a Bucks County Democrat, said lawmakers are wrestling with major issues that directly affect constituents, such as fixing roads and bridges.
“I think what’s in the budget is more important than the date the budget is signed,” Galloway said. “If it means that I have to stay here as long as it takes, then that’s what I’m going do.”
Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Fayette County Democrat, agreed.
“You can’t be held to a timeline when you are dealing with a $27 billion budget,” Mahoney said.
“We have to get the right budget in place. We just can’t throw anything up there.”
Rep. Jim Marshall, a Beaver County Republican, said there’s not much he can do to hasten the process.
“I’ve been here everyday working to get to that end result, but right now we are at the hands of the Democratic majority in the House and the governor,” he said.
Marshall won his seat by upsetting House Democratic Whip Mike Veon of Beaver County in a predominantly Democratic district.
Marshall is not too concerned that another late budget will result in voter backlash.
“People who know me know that I’m here working hard,” Marshall said.
Berwood Yost, director of the Floyd Institute for Public Policy at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, said it’s the Legislature that generally gets a black eye for missing budget deadlines.
“The institution may suffer, but the individual legislators usually do not bear the brunt from constituents,” Yost said.
Still, Yost said this year’s crop of freshmen lawmakers probably find them selves in an uncomfortable spot.
While changing Harrisburg was a dominant theme in most first-term lawmakers’ campaigns last year, Yost said several freshman also campaigned hard on standing up to Rendell and limiting state spending.
“I think the freshman have to be walking a narrow ledge,” Yost said.
Staying on that ledge will be harder the longer lawmakers wait to pass a budget.
Thousands of state workers would see their paychecks stop and residents would see services cut off if a spending plan is not adopted by late July.
“If it gets to the end of July and some people have (temporarily) lost their jobs, that’s when it’s going to hurt everybody,” said Rep. Chris King, a first-term Bucks County Democrat.
Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, a seven-term Bucks County Republican, said if the past is any indication, passing a budget a few days late will not matter much for many folks.
“It’s not the way I would like to do things,” DiGirolamo said of late budgets.
“Of everything we do up here in Harrisburg, the budget is the most important thing. But we haven’t had a budget on time in a few years, and I’ve never had anybody come to me and say they have a problem.”
Kori Walter can be reached at 717-705-6330 or kwalter@readingeagle.com.