Budget negotiations in Harrisburg have reportedly lead to a tentative deal to pass a revenue package including a small gambling expansion, and skips over the tax increases that had been in an earlier Senate plan.
According to City & State, the deal would create 10 new ‘mini casinos’ in rural areas of the state, expand online poker and slots, and legalize video gaming terminals at truck stops.
The deal would avoid the tax increases and expansions that were included in an earlier proposal passed by the Senate with bipartisan support, but had met strong resistance in the House.
“The details are still being worked out and we hope to have something to share with the caucus next week,” House GOP spokesman Stephen Miskin told City & State.
According to the Patriot News, the deal would rely heavily on borrowing at least $1 billion against the state’s payments from the tobacco settlement and around $300 million in fund transfers.
City & State reports that Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati recalled the Senate for session Monday with plans to vote on a budget bill next week.
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2 Responses
@yerkiddenright “There are still nearly a billion bucks in idle funds sitting around in the agencies. The Senate “negotiated” the original proposal to use it all down to a lousy $300 million.”
That false statement needs to be corrected once and for all. The “Taxpayer Caucus,” which is made up of all Republicans, “reviewed” budget documents to find money. They should leave that to professionals. Those funds are like money in a checking account; the checks are written, but they haven’t cleared.
As far as a deal is concerned, if there is no real Marcellus Shale Tax, then there should be no deal, plain and simple! I am tired of Rep. Turdzai and the rest of the cronies suckling off the gas companies and their lobbyists, while the Commonwealth’s resource is being harvested for a pennies on the dollar “impact fee.”
There are still nearly a billion bucks in idle funds sitting around in the agencies. The Senate “negotiated” the original proposal to use it all down to a lousy $300 million. Watch the rest of it get squandered quickly to avoid allowing any tax avoidance or even relief in the future.
We don’t have Republican majorities in the legislature. Too many Rs vote with the Ds and the unions to be considered Republican in any practical sense. They’re just big-government stooges.