After The Holiday, Unfinished Business Remains In Harrisburg
By Tony Romeo
HARRISBURG (CBS) -- Pennsylvania begins the seventh day of the fiscal year without power to spend money as Governor Corbett continues to mull over whether to sign the budget sent to him by lawmakers last week.
As he exhorted lawmakers to act on reform of pensions for future state and school employees, Governor Corbett last week said "all options" were on the table as he considered what to do with the budget on his desk.
But Allegheny County Republican Mike Turzai, the House majority leader, indicated that pension reform will now be an issue for the fall and on Wednesday night, as the House left town for the week and maybe the summer, he scoffed at the notion that governor might veto the budget to compel action on pensions.
Turzai says, "please. It's on time budget, it's a responsible budget. The governor should sign it."
The Senate, meanwhile, is expected Tuesday to take up a bill containing language authorizing a cigarette tax for Philadelphia school funding.
That bill needs a second Senate vote after being amended by the House.