Pa. GOP tries to override only part of Wolf's budget

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania's budget impasse remained firmly in place Tuesday after the Republican majority failed during hours of debate to persuade Democrats, in a series of 14 votes, to override any portion of Gov. Wolf's budget veto.

Republicans defended the perhaps-unprecedented legislative method of holding override votes on individual line items even though Wolf had not exercised his line-item authority when he rejected the GOP budget plan in late June. The $30.2 billion plan did not include more taxes for education and human services spending, as Wolf proposed.

Democrats argued that line-item votes would violate the state constitution, and prevented their opponents from getting the two-thirds majority required for an override.

Wolf, a Democrat, vetoed the entire budget, which raised questions about whether the Republican plan was legal.

Rep. Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) told reporters that research did not turn up examples in Pennsylvania history, or in other states, of lawmakers using a line-item veto override when a governor had not used a line-item veto. He said the authority to line-item override Wolf's veto thus stemmed from the principle that legislators have powers not specifically ruled out by the state or federal constitutions. Because it was not explicitly prohibited, it was legal, he argued.

Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D., Allegheny) called the maneuver a political stunt. "Everyone knows that this process and this proposal is unconstitutional," Dermody told members as debate began.

Democrats produced an Aug. 11 advisory opinion that Dermody had sought from the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau that the Republican approach was not constitutional. "Reconsidering a general veto on a line-by-line basis would lead to the unconstitutional result of effectively rewriting and enacting new legislation without executive approval," the bureau wrote.

Republicans have a 119-84 majority but needed at least 17 Democrats to jump ranks to send a veto to the Senate. All votes were along party lines. The plan had been for 20 votes, but after hours of debate Republicans rushed through the last seven in a bundle.

"It is unacceptable that the most vulnerable and those who serve the most vulnerable will have to carry the burden of Harrisburg's indecision," said Rep. Bill Adolph (R., Delaware), chair of the Appropriations Committee.

Democratic members said they believed Republicans wanted to force them to vote against spending they support so Republicans could use those votes against them. The first item Republicans brought to the floor was more than $9 million for rape crisis centers.