Wolf: 'Different Tone' In Budget Process
by Tony Romeo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Governor Wolf says a week after he outlined his budget proposal, he believes both Republicans and Democrats believe discussions are starting out from a "far better place" than they did in previous years.
Last week, Governor Wolf proposed to close a multi-billion dollar budget deficit by engineering what he called largest cuts to, and consolidations of, government bureaucracy in state history. Without reducing services or increasing sales or income taxes.
But the governor still wants to increase education funding.
At an event on Tuesday he was presented valentines from youngsters for his proposal to increase early childhood education spending by $75 million dollars.
Afterward, he was upbeat about the reaction to his budget plan.
"Will there be conversations? Absolutely. But I have a sense that there's a very different tone right now than there was two years ago, for example. So I'm heartened by that, and I think we'll get to a good result," Wolf said.
State lawmakers begin three weeks of hearings on Wolf's budget proposal next week.