In Bruce Springsteen’s song “Darlington County” – says the hero of the song in the third verse, “I haven’t seen my friend for seven days. The mayor tells me the same thing, he doesn’t work and doesn’t earn money.”
Well, Darlington County is not the seat of the Pennsylvania General Assembly (yes, it’s Dauphin County), but if Senator Anthony Williams (Philadelphia) gets its way, the same rules will apply in the Keystone State Legislature.
Williams is is looking for co-authors of the legislation it proposes which shows that members of the General Assembly will not receive salaries until the state’s budget impasse is resolved.
“The General Assembly is responsible for promoting and protecting the health and general welfare of all citizens of the Commonwealth,” he wrote. “The adoption of a state budget is essential to this moral imperative. Because the General Assembly has failed to fulfill its constitutional obligation to adopt a budget on time, no members should be paid salaries until the impasse is resolved.”
The Commonwealth budget impasse continues for 113 days as of Tuesday Governor Josh Shapiro is unable to bring House Democrats and Senate Republicans to a resolution at the negotiating table.
“Pennsylvanians are currently living in unprecedented times,” Williams continued. “The state budget impasse has been going on for months and people are struggling to make ends meet. The problem is exacerbated by the current state of the economy and the rising cost of living. People need aid and deserve a functioning government.
Williams, who was first elected to the position in 2006, wrote that the idea of no pay without a budget is not novel.
“This is not a new idea. I served in the General Assembly precisely within the framework that would be re-established by this legislation. During that time, my colleagues and I realized that we had to keep our cool. When we were under the same financial pressure as many people and industries in Pennsylvania, we were able to put politics aside and focus on the substance of policy. This encouraged serious negotiations and a timely passage of the budget countries. “
Budget impasses have been a common feature of Pennsylvania’s regularly divided government, which it is legally obligated to pass balanced budget by June 30 each year. Over the past 20 years, the state has passed 13 behind schedule budgets, including four deadlocks lasting more than 100 days.
The Commonwealth Supreme Court ruled in a 6-1 decision in 2009 that state workers must be paid during a budget impasse. The court in a majority opinion written by Chief Justice Ronald Castillestated that provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requiring timely payment for work performed supersede a provision in the state constitution that prohibits the disbursement of most state funds without approval by the General Assembly.
This ruling overturned the Commonwealth Court’s decision and vindicated the case of government employees who for years believed that at the time:Governor Ed Rendell he unfairly used them in budget wars with the Republican-controlled state Senate. Rendell signed only one budget on time, and that was in his final year in office, when Democrats controlled the House of Representatives.
Rep. Jill Cooper (R-Westmoreland) introduced a similar package in the House because the first-term representative wanted to put Pennsylvania “on a similar footing with certain others that depend on an annual appropriations process to function, i.e., we don’t get paid until the budget is passed.” HB 1682 was referred to the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on June 30 – the day work on the state budget was completed.
In September Questioner from Philadelphia reported that only 10 of 203 members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives “decided to withhold pay when the chief clerk of the house gave them the opportunity to do so. All senators received regular pay.”
