Pennsylvania Legislators Vacation
Pennsylvania legislators are definitely in "vacation" mode.
Republican House leaders had said members would work one more week –
Tackle pension reform and some other issues –
Before taking a summer break until mid-September.
The Philadelphia school district was relieved.
It's facing an 81-million dollar budget deficit –
That could mean teacher layoffs –
And delay the start of the new school year.
The state Senate had passed a cigarette tax bill to fill the budget hole –
But it was stuck in the House.
When members returned Monday –
They were supposed to spend the week working on that – and pension reform.
Now House GOP leaders say some members are already on vacation –
And can't - or won't - come back.
So – summer break starts after Monday's meeting.
Forget pension reform.
As for Philadelphia –
House Speaker Sam Smith and Majority Leader Mike Turzai say –
No worries.
Governor Corbett should just give the school district a cash advance –
And they'll deal with the problem next month.
We should probably be used to this.
Pennsylvania's lawmakers have consistently failed to tackle difficult – important – issues.
Why would we suddenly expect anything different – especially during the summer?