(WHTM) \u2014 It\u2019s been a week since the budget passed, and the dust is still settling on the details.
We sat down with two of the main players.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rainy day fund is going to be a challenge next year, there\u2019s no doubt about it,\u201d said Senate Majority Floor Leader Joe Pittman (R-Armstrong\/Indiana\/Jefferson\/Westmoreland).<\/p>\n
Sen. Pittman is proud that Pennsylvania\u2019s $7.5 billion rainy day fund was untouched, but no promises for next year, given that the state is spending $50 billion and taking in $47 billion.<\/p>\n
Shapiro says \u2018unfinished business\u2019 left by budget concessions <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf you told me ten months ago that we were going to find $3 billion in the couch cushions of the bureaucracy, I\u2019d tell you I didn\u2019t believe you, but we did,\u201d said Pittman.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a mischaracterization to say we just found money,\u201d said House Majority Appropriations Committee Chair Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia). \u201cI mean, our folks here do a great job of accounting for all of the taxpayer dollars, so there\u2019s no finding money.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Harris concedes lawmakers must find more money before next year\u2019s budget. Skill games? Legalized marijuana? Increased growth or the \u201cT\u201d word. Harris was asked if Pennsylvania can get the budget done next year without a tax increase.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Harris responded.<\/p>\n The budget required compromise, which requires all sides to accept things they don\u2019t like. What do these two least like about this year\u2019s deal?<\/p>\n \u201cI hate how much we\u2019re spending,\u201d said Pittman. \u201cI don\u2019t like the spending number. I\u2019m worried about the structural deficit. We\u2019re spending much more than I prefer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPennsylvania is going to have to talk about climate,\u201d said Harris. \u201cIt\u2019s going to have to talk about energy and what we\u2019re doing here and the Commonwealth around it, but Pennsylvania also has to come to grips with talking about mass transit. It is one of the things in the budget that was left undone.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats sacrifice climate program for $50.1B budget agreement <\/a><\/p>\n The budget was passed a week after a blue wave election washed across Pennsylvania. What\u2019s the biggest takeaway?<\/p>\n \u201cMy takeaway is that the electorate is going through convulsions, quite frankly, 365 days before the election,\u201d said Pittman. \u201cA couple of weeks ago, it was a huge red wave. The electorate sent a different message.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I would consider is a rebuff of what we\u2019ve seen at the federal level on the fact that the federal administration is not doing what people of Pennsylvania want to see,\u201d said Harris.<\/p>\n When asked if Republicans are nervous about the election to come, Pittman said he was not concerned.<\/p>\n Get the latest Pennsylvania politics and election news with abc27 newsletters<\/a>!<\/p>\n \u201cNot at all,\u201d said Pittman. \u201cNot at all. Lord knows where we\u2019ll be a year from now.\u201d<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n