When we told Pennsylvanians to hold their applause after the Legislature submitted only half a budget – the spending half – by the state’s June 30 deadline, we should have also advised all to hold on to their wallets, too.
After his no-new-taxes budget proposal went nowhere last weekend, Republican House Speaker Mike Turzai issued this challenge to his GOP colleagues in the state Senate:
Working late Wednesday night to close a $2 billion gap in the state’s $32 billion budget, the Republican-controlled Senate began pushing a plan to tax drilling for natural gas, and raise or impose new taxes on consumers’ telephone, electric, and gas bills.
Pennsylvania’s moribund drilling industry, which has struggled with persistently low prices and a dearth of infrastructure to get its product to market, is showing signs of life.
The clock is ticking on Pennsylvania lawmakers grappling with the state government’s biggest shortfall since the recession to come up with the $2 billion-plus they say they need to balance a shortfall from the just-ended fiscal year and a projected deficit in the just-started fiscal year.
A proposal to double Pennsylvania’s minimum wage over several years is finding support on Pittsburgh City Council.