Another late state budget appears to be in the offing

State lawmakers have a little over 24 hours until the deadline to enact a spending plan for the next fiscal year passes at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday. 

But as of Monday afternoon, few details have emerged from negotiations between Gov. Josh Shapiro and leaders of the Senate Republican and House Democratic majorities. And with Senate rules requiring the bill that will ultimately contain the budget to be read on three separate days, the earliest a budget could pass is Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Shapiro pointed to comments he made at an event in Monroe County Friday.

“There’s no excuses anymore. The legislature has a legal responsibility to show up for work, to do their jobs, and to put a budget on my desk,” he said. “I think they should stay there until they get a budget on my desk. There’s no reason it can’t get done shortly.”

Both chambers met in Harrisburg Monday as closed door negotiations between Shapiro and caucus leaders continued. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman told the Capital-Star in response to questions about the state of negotiations, “discussions regarding the budget are still ongoing at this time.”

The House passed a bill containing Shapiro’s budget proposal in April, though it had virtually no chance of getting through the GOP-majority Senate. 

Senate Republican leaders at the time said they had “profound concerns about the level of spending” it proposed, and the impact it would have on the state’s structural deficit.

House Appropriations Chair Rep. Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia), the House’s primary budget architect, told reporters Monday the chamber had repeatedly pushed to advance a spending plan before Tuesday’s deadline, and criticized Senate Republicans for not putting forward a counter-proposal.

“We’ve yet to see a budget come from the state Senate,” Harris said. He added, “what we’re waiting for is the Senate to tell us or show us what they can do.

Whether or not to dip into the state’s nearly $8 billion rainy day fund will be part of the discussion. Democrats point to slightly higher-than-expected revenue collections as a reason to increase spending, supplemented by taxes on adult-use cannabis and skill games.

The Senate did take some action Monday. The Appropriations Committee amended the budget bill already passed by the House, stripping almost all of its provisions and effectively turning it into a blank slate.

It was a procedural move to get the legislation out of committee and allow it to pass more quickly. When negotiations are complete, it will be amended again to reflect the final agreement, though the earliest the bill can pass is Wednesday.

Last year, budget negotiations dragged on more than six months past the June 30 deadline, with a spending plan ultimately passing in November.

That led local governments and school districts across the state to cut services or take loans to fund programs typically covered by the state.

Dow Jones News Fund reporting intern Emily Scolnick contributed to this story.