Harrisburg – a house in Pennsylvania on Wednesday successfully killed two bills for mass transit and generally Expenses – signaling that the divided state legislation remains on an impasse over the budget on the eve of the SEPTA financing deadline to introduce sedate services.
The gap between House Democrats and the Senate Republicans was never brighter than on Wednesday, like Two home committees voted on the accounts adopted on Tuesday evening by Senate-47.6 billion dollars, funds of financial expenditure on a flat for the budget year in 2025-26 and a separate two-year plan of $ 1.2 billion to exploit the capital funds of mass transit capital funds and some revenues from games to pay for transit operating costs and road repair.
Two votes of the committee, with democrats in the opposition, and supported the Republicans, prevented everyone from voting in front of a full house. Committees may vote later for considering the Senate’s resources, although this is unlikely without major changes in each project.
The leaders of the Democratic House, who last month sent the Act on expenses in the amount of $ 50.6 billion to the Senate, did not agree to the state budget and the transit law financed by the Senate, arguing that both proposals do not deal with issues in front of which there is a state and mass transit.
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During mass transit, the Democrats maintained that the exploit of capital funds stored in the Public Transport Fund, a special fund from currently over $ 2.2 billion, there was no starter. This opinion is divided by the highest officials in SEPTA and the Transport Department in Pennsylvania, who testified on Wednesday before the Committee on the Regulations of the Chamber. And the leaders of the Chamber said that the general expenditure of the Senate was not even a tiny -term solution that they could take into account, because the state budget is seven weeks, and schools and poviats deserve to know how much money they will receive throughout the financial year.
“It’s August 13,” said Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia). “We could change this budget and send it back with the same thing that we sent earlier, but we do not look at the ping-conquered bills there and back. … The inhabitants of the community of nations want and need a plan of expenses, and we intend to get them.”
“Step forward”
However, at a distance from each other, as two chambers appeared, the leader of the majority of the Chamber Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) said that the recent activities of the Senate show an agreement among the legislator that there was a urgent need to finance mass transit that the Senate had never formally recognized in voting before.
“It’s a step forward,” Bradford told journalists after the Rugle Principles Committee voted for the Act on mass transit of the Senate. “The Senate for eight weeks did not adopt the budget, did not adopt transit financing. Now we can see that the Senate at least recognized the challenge ahead of us.”
Bradford, Shapiro and the leader of the majority of Senate Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) continued budget negotiations behind closed doors on Wednesday, when Septa approached the Thursday financing date. Shapiro told journalists in the center of the center on Wednesday that he met individually with both leaders, including Pittman for two hours on Wednesday morning.
“I wouldn’t say we’re far away,” Shapiro said. “We are making progress. I actually thought that yesterday moving in the Senate brought us closer because what he did explained that the Senate was involved in financing mass transit.”
SEPTA officials said that they need state financing until Thursday to avoid 20% of services from August 24, just before the first school day for students in the school district in Philadelphia.
During the meeting of the House Committee, Selta General, Scott Sauer, said that the upcoming cuts would act on, and the transit agency remains against withdrawing from the already needed capital funds for activity.
Schools, poviats and other subsidized services by the government have been waiting from July 1 of the tax year in 2025–26 to receive state payments, because dollars will sit in the treasury until the General and Shapiro assembly does not approve the balanced budget. Schools and poviats have already begun to find additional financing last month in the absence of state funds.
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The President of the Senate Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland), the best Republican in the Chamber, said in an interview on Wednesday morning before the Action of the Chamber that Democrats are required to consider the Senate’s financing proposal or at least get some of the necessary funds before the start of the school year.
“If they simply vote for it and say no, which means that when schools are not financed, and hospitals and all other important, necessary entities – which lie straight on the arms of Democrats, if they close the conversation,” Ward said.
Pittman, who previously opposed the boost in SEPTA financing, citing the management of the agency, said on Tuesday that the Senate’s expenditure plan could be renegotiated to take into account additional financing if it is adopted.
“We certainly do not believe that what we have undergone today is the end of conversations about the greater problems that remain unique,” added Pittman. He said that these larger, unsolved issues include regulation and taxation of displaying a game machine, which currently do not have state supervision to generate additional state income.
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However, Pittman would not say whether the Senate had votes for a budget of over $ 47.6 billion – Bradford’s question asked many times when both work with Shapiro to achieve the contract. Pittman said he wasn’t speculating if the Senate would come back to approve the additional general budget Submission over $ 47.6 billion, not seeing the full budget agreement between the best legislators. At least one member of the Pittman Republican club, who has a three-person advantage in a 50-person senate, swore publicly not to vote for any budget account higher than last year.
But Pittman, the leader of the Republican Senate, the best when he asked about what his chamber could go into a divided legislator.
“Let the leader Bradford count his voices and I will count mine,” said Pittman.
