HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett signed the state budget 10 days late on Thursday and used his line-item veto power to spotlight what he called the Legislature’s failure to sacrifice with the rest of government or to curb rising public-sector pension costs that are fueling school tax increases. Corbett, a Republican who is running for re-election but down in polls to Democrat Tom Wolf, delivered the news in a lively, campaign-style speech that recounted his accomplishments and took on lawmakers and public-sector labor unions. He said he wanted to avoid any more school property tax increases to cover pension obligations, and criticized the GOP-controlled Legislature for refusing to contribute any of its approximately $150 million six-month operating reserve to help state government close a massive deficit. Criticism from lawmakers was bipartisan, and accentuated Corbett’s chilly relationship with Republicans and solid opposition by Democrats. Overall, Corbett struck $65 million from the Legislature’s own appropriations and another $7.2 million in earmarks and other spending items picked by lawmakers, noting that the proposal sent to him last week increased the General Assembly’s own $320 million budget by 2 percent. “They filled the budget with discretionary spending and then refused to deal with the biggest fiscal challenge facing Pennsylvania, our unsustainable public pension system,” Corbett told reporters. timesleader/news/local-news-news/1523904/Corbett-signs-budget-takes-on-lawmakers-pensions
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 14:51:15 +0000
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