Overcast. High 82F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Partly cloudy skies. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Updated: July 11, 2024  1:36 pm. . . The Pennsylvania Capitol building in Harrisburg. HARRISBURG The Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee held a late meeting Tuesday night amid ongoing budget negotiations, just long enough for the Democratic majority to open the meeting and immediately announce a break. The secrecy around the pending budget for 202425 served to perturb House Republicans on the committee, angered by a latenight meeting one with a start time that had already been delayed for which they had no agenda and no related legislation to review. The meeting will be at ease, Rep. Jordan Harris, DPhiladelphia, minority chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said inside of 70 seconds immediately following roll call. With that, Democrats reconvened behind closed doors in a nearby conference room. Republicans huddled briefly in the hallway outside. Obviously, we re probably at an impasse, Rep. Seth Grove, RYork, minority chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told Capitol reporters moments later. House Democratic leadership and the heads of the Senate Republican majority are leading negotiations along with the governor s staff. Despite having shared generalities that progress is being made, it hasn t resulted in a public process. As 10 o clock expired Tuesday night, long after the meeting had been put at ease, there remained no movement on a general appropriations bill tailored for the new fiscal year that began July 1. And, there were no code bills introduced that would authorize proposed spending. The House Democratic majority and Gov. Josh Shapiro aligned behind the governor s 48.3 billion budget proposal, a near 3 billion spending increase above the current budget. It s a figure Republicans in both chambers have balked at. They prefer a smaller increase and one coupled with commensurate tax cuts totaling about 3 billion. School spending marks perhaps the highest hurdle to clear for agreement in light of the 2023 ruling by the Commonwealth Court that Pennsylvania s system to fund public education is unconstitutional. Democrats seek a roughly billiondollar increase. Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, RArmstrongIndianaJeffersonWestmoreland, didn t express opposition to the size of the increase when he met last week with the media, but he did say the method by which education subsidies will be distributed is a point of contention. Good progress is taking place, but I continue to underscore nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. As we come closer to completion, the Senate looks forward to collaborating with the House on how best to advance all necessary components of the budget, Pittman said in a prepared statement. Republicans reconvened in the Majority Caucus Room before 11 p.m. for the meeting s restart but the hour passed without Democrats returning. A spokesperson for Harris told media members that Democrats were continuing work and that the meeting would resume at a later time. The governor has asked us to hold while negotiations continue. First Amendment:Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee held a late meeting with Democrats abruptly taking a break, leading to frustration among Republicans. The budget negotiations for 2024-25 continue with Democrats favoring a significant spending increase while Republicans push for smaller growth and tax cuts. School spending remains a major point of contention, especially after a court ruling declaring the current funding system unconstitutional. Despite reported progress, no concrete agreements have been reached yet.