Mar 30, 2016 4 min read

Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf decided to let the latest budget proposal passed by the Legislature become law without his signature in order to avert fiscal catastrophe in some quarters, including the possibility certain public schools might have to shut their doors for lack of funds.

It seemed the long, ridiculous budget battle was finally over, but the governor had one last weapon in his arsenal, a veto of the 101-page fiscal code that accompanied the spending plan and, according to an Associated Press report, “bundles together a variety of items to implement the state budget.” Past use of the code by legislators already is the subject of a legal battle that is headed before the state Supreme Court.

The governor thought there was way too much “bundling” going on, and we agree with him. For one thing, Wolf notes an item inserted in the code would give the House and Senate, individually, the opportunity to scuttle the state’s blueprint to comply with the Clean Power Plan before it is forwarded to the federal government for approval.

“This procedure not only permits an improper one-house veto, but also calls for an unwarranted intrusion upon executive authority, and I will not assent to these legislative decisions,” the governor wrote in his one-page veto letter to legislators.

The governor also said lawmakers were using the code in an attempt to block regulations on conventional oil and gas drilling that have been in the development phase for the past few years.

“This termination of the regulatory process would present a significant obstacle to (Department of Environmental Protection) efforts to enhance environmental safeguards for conventional oil and gas development,” Wolf said in his letter. “I do not consider this legislative proposal as being in the best interests of this commonwealth.”

The governor also objected to the way the code would have divided new money among the state’s public schools, which received partial state support when Wolf earlier signed off on a stopgap budget late last year.

According to the AP report, Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan said the administration will distribute school subsidies “in the most appropriate manner possible, just as we did in December when the governor signed a partial general appropriations bill that was without an accompanying fiscal code because the Legislature did not pass one.”

The governor’s Republican opponents in the Legislature claim he’s actually doing harm to schools, in that his refusal to sign the fiscal code will prevent the distribution of $289 million to reimburse districts for major building projects.

“The governor has claimed to place money for schools above all else, but in the end it was not his priority, given his willingness to continually use his veto to cut millions of dollars from schools,” Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman of Centre County told the AP.

However, we would note it was Wolf, not the Legislature, who wanted to provide greater funding to the state’s public schools, albeit through tax increases that lawmakers ultimately refused to approve.

Steve Miskin, spokesman for House Republicans, said legislative leaders are discussing whether to attempt an override of the governor’s fiscal code veto. We hope they would abandon that option, and instead pass anew, and individually, any legislation needed to implement the spending outlined in the latest partial budget. If Republicans want to challenge the administration’s efforts to address environmental issues, that should be done separately from the budget process.

Stay tuned, because regardless of the override decision, another spectacular budget failure by our “leaders” in Harrisburg may be just three months away. The only real hope for citizens of the commonwealth is the fact most of the lawmakers are up for re-election this November, and their well-honed self-preservation instincts might compel them to actually do their jobs this time around.