Wolf vetoes stopgap budget.

[femmocrat]

As he promised, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed a stopgap budget the Republican-controlled Legislature completed Monday and sent to his desk Tuesday.

Gov. Tom Wolf (Chris Shipley / The Morning Call)
Wolf's reasons for killing the short-term budget, which would have provided $11.2 billion in state tax dollars and freed up billions more in federal tax money, were the same as when he rejected a full 2015-16 budget the Legislature sent him on June 30. Like the full budget, Wolf said, the stopgap did not include a severance tax on natural gas drillers to provide a continuous stream of extra money for schools, it did not close the state's deficit with other new tax revenue, and it did not reduce local property taxes by increasing the state's income and sales taxes.

"Just like their sham budget in June, this stopgap budget makes it clear that Republican leaders not only want to do nothing to move the commonwealth forward, but they are intent on taking us backward," Wolf said in a statement.

More at link: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-budge-impasse-school-districts-20150929-story.html

[Divernan]

1. Like to see spreadsheet with Frackers' payments to each legislator.

Publish that in all the media and let the voters see for themselves.

By "payments", of course I refer to campaign "donations".

[femmocrat]

2. So would I.

That would be very interesting.

A quick Google search turned this up: http://priceofoil.org/campaigns/separate-oil-and-state/dirty-energy-money/pennsylvania-analysis/

Excerpt:

Senate President, Joseph Scarnati III (R), has accepted over $200,000 from fossil fuel industry interests during each of the last two election cycles. He has accepted a total of $563,321 since 2006 — the largest amount taken by any state Representative or Senator.
Dave Reed (R), Chairman of the State GOP Policy Committee, accepted $103,800 from fossil fuel industry interests during the last election cycle, bringing his total to $316,150 since 2006 — the second highest for state legislators.
Mike Turzai (R), House Majority Leader, has accepted $268,600 from fossil fuel industry interests since 2006 — the third largest amount for state legislators.

There is probably more if anyone feels like digging.

[Divernan]

3. Wow! Half a million to Republican Senate Leader

and 1/4 million to Republican House Majority Leader. I'd love to have Bill DeWeese back in the House giving one of his erudite speeches excoriating this blatant, rampant bribery.