2015 – 2016 COMMONWEALTH BUDGET These links may expire: January 11 Pressure off, Pennsylvania's budget fight could be on ice HARRISBURG — For the first time since July, billions in electronic money transfers began rocketing out of the Pennsylvania Treasury to school districts, county governments and state vendors... - AP Governor, lawmakers to renew fray over Pa. gas tax Pennsylvania's natural gas industry and lawmakers in Harrisburg are preparing for another battle over a severance tax on production, even before the current state budget is settled. “It's going to return in a big way as the budget situation remains completely unresolved,” Muhlenberg College political scientist... - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pennsylvania at crossroads Today, Pennsylvania faces a crossroads. We all know our commonwealth has a massive structural deficit after years of Republican budgets built on gimmicks. It's time to face the facts and get our fiscal house in order. Instead of passing a fiscally sound budget and finishing the work they were... - Uniontown Herald-Standard State budget needs Pennsylvania needs a budget that invests in our children's future and creates a stable financial environment for our commonwealth so it can grow in the future. It's time to stop the games and gimmicks and get back to work. That's why Governor Wolf made the right decision to line item veto... - Williamsport Sun-Gazette Tally full cost of legislative malpractice After a series of credit downgrades for the state government and chaos for public school districts and social service agencies, Pennsylvania’s government still is without an actual budget as the state staggers into a legislative election year. The Republican majorities in both houses signed off on a $30- billion-plus,... - Scranton Times Analysis | Standoff may linger into next budget season HARRISBURG – The state House of Representatives returns to work Monday, but don’t expect that to mean a race to the finish off the state budget. Lawmakers, in fact, could soon be juggling two spending plans – the budget for the current year, which has been locked up in an impasse now in... - Johnstown Tribune-Democrat Analyst: Pa. Gov’t Likely To Juggle Two Budgets In Months Ahead HARRISBURG, Pa., (CBS) — Pennsylvania may soon to find itself in a situation not seen in decades: a divided government wrestling with a second budget proposal while the first one is still not completed. In late December, Governor Wolf partially signed and partially vetoed a... - KYW News Radio 1060 Wolf subtracts add-ons in state budget veto HARRISBURG — They’ve been called “legislative add-ons” to the state budget. State aid for lupus treatment would total $102,000. Agriculture research would get $1.8 million, heritage parks would draw $2.2 million, and $2.1 million would go to mobile math and science program. Payments to county... - Scranton Times Schools get some money, await full Pa. budget numbers Local public school officials say payments from the state -- catching them up on funds they should have received over the past six months -- have begun rolling in. And while that relieves immediate financial pressure, some said schools still need a full state budget resolution sooner rather... - York Daily Delaware County getting paid for human services and gets good bond rating MEDIA >> Delaware County officials have two things to celebrate. On Thursday, county officials announced Delaware County received $33.6 million in funds from the Pennsylvania Treasury to pay human service providers, following a months-long dearth due to the state budget debacle... - Primos Delaware County Daily and Sunday Times Sticking point on Pa.’s budget: finding the money On Dec. 28, Gov. Tom Wolf executed a line-item veto that allowed money to flow to social service agencies and school districts. He could have used his line-item veto when first presented with the budget June 30. I believe this would have provided for a much better negotiating... - Lancaster Intelligencer Journal January 10 Schools group sues Pennsylvania over budget fight's holdup of school aid The Pennsylvania School Boards Association is suing Gov. Tom Wolf and the state Legislature, saying it's illegal and unconstitutional to withhold state and federal school aid during a budget impasse... - AP Westmoreland County senior centers to reopen as state budget impasse eases The five Westmoreland County senior centers that were closed because of the state budget impasse will reopen Thursday now that the long-overdue money has arrived. The Latrobe, Ligonier, Mt. Pleasant, New Alexandria and New Florence centers have been closed since mid-November, as the Area Agency on Aging's... - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pressure off, Pennsylvania's budget fight could be on ice For the first time since July, billions in electronic money transfers began rocketing out of the Pennsylvania Treasury to school districts, county governments and state vendors... - AP January 8 Berks County starting to see state money Reading, PA Berks County has started to receive some of the state aid that was held up during the extended state budget impasse. Ronald M. Rutkowski, first deputy county controller, told the commissioners during their Thursday meeting that Berks received about $21 million in... - Reading Eagle Rep. Mike Sturla's new natural gas tax proposal would fund pensions State Rep. Mike Sturla says he will propose a tax on natural gas extraction to help pay for state and school pension costs in what will be the latest attempt to tap drillers in the Marcellus Shale region. In a twist, though, the Democrat from Lancaster is trying to appeal to... - Lancaster Intelligencer Journal Greene County human services starting to receive state fund WAYNESBURG – Much-needed funding is finally trickling into Greene County Human Services Department after Gov. Tom Wolf signed a partial state budget last month, but more problems remain on the horizon. The department has been starved for cash during the state budget impasse... - Washington Observer-Reporter Wolf drains farm funds, Cooperative Extension HARRISBURG — Collateral damage from the state’s budget standoff is no longer focused at social welfare groups. Wielding his line-item veto, Gov. Tom Wolf has now taken aim at agriculture programs, including the Cooperative Extension Service, held dear to many... - Sunbury Daily Item Pa. school boards group sues state over holdup of education funds HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania School Boards Association says it will file a lawsuit today asking the courts to force the state to release money owed to schools. The association says it is asking for the timely release of federal and state money owed to school districts and also damages to compensate for... - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Report: Pennsylvania ranks near bottom in ability to weather a recession Pennsylvania ranks nearly last among all states in its ability to deal with a recession, according to a report from a Virginia think tank. Based on the state’s general fund and lack of a rainy day fund, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University near Washington, D.C., ranked... - Beaver County Times Wolf takes jabs at GOP lawmakers in stop in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday continued to rail against Republican legislators after their most recent rejection of a state budget. He made a stop at Alpha-Lab Gear in East Liberty as part of his “Jobs that Pay” tour, promoting investment in Pennsylvania entrepreneurs and... - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review State sending checks, but budget angst persists HARRISBURG – Relief is on the way. The state Treasury is sending the first of $6 billion worth of checks to school districts, counties and social service groups in light of Gov. Tom Wolf's partial approval of a budget passed by the Legislature before Christmas.... - New Castle News State funds flowing, Montco cancels loan Montgomery County has canceled a planned $75 million loan and will resume paying human services vendors now that state funds are flowing. The partial spending plan signed by Gov. Wolf on Dec. 30 released crucial funds to schools and counties, but did not address questions of revenue and... - Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania sued over budget fight's holdup of school aid HARRISBURG, Pa. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association is suing Gov. Tom Wolf and the state Legislature, saying it's illegal and unconstitutional to withhold state and federal school aid during a budget impasse... - AP Late budget impacting incumbent lawmakers' plans to seek re-election After serving seven terms in the state House, Rep. John Payne plans to call it quits at the end of this year. Payne, 65, a Republican from Derry Twp., said his decision to not seek an eighth term is not because of any one particular reason but the continued failure to finalize a 2015-16 budget certainly contributed to it.... - Harrisburg Patriot-News January 7 Funding numbers released for school districts waiting on state subsidies Public schools in Lackawanna County will receive $43 million in much-needed state funding, according to a list released Wednesday by Gov. Tom Wolf’s office. Due to the state budget impasse, schools across the state operated without any state subsidies since the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. Some... - Scranton Times The elephant in the room: Pa's House Republicans are making their mark(s) on state's divided government Pennsylvania appeared on its way, however grudgingly, to a pre-Christmas budget that was going to require a major increase in broad-based state taxes for the first time since 2003. But a funny thing happened on the way to the governor's desk: the House Republican caucus, for the moment at least, stopped the deal.... - Harrisburg Patriot-News When can we expect a state budget? Next year? | Editorial Ugh. Just one month before Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf will deliver his second budget address — it's scheduled for Feb.