House Defeats GOP Bid To Override Parts Of Wolf Budget Veto
House GOP Veto Override Attempts Fall Short
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House GOP Veto Override Attempts Fall Short
August 26, 2015
August 25, 2015
House GOP Fails In Partial Override Of State Budget Veto; Adolph: The End Is Not Near
House Republicans Tuesday failed in 14 attempts to override the veto of specific line items in Gov. Wolf’s veto of the state budget bill-- House Bill 1192-- all by party-line votes of 115 to 83, less than the two-thirds (136) needed to override the veto.
The Republicans control the House 119 members to 84, but they failed to get the 17 Democrats needed for the two-thirds override.
The Republicans control the House 119 members to 84, but they failed to get the 17 Democrats needed for the two-thirds override.
The failed overrides included these combinations of line items--
-- 274 social service line items;
-- Funding for 60 domestic violence programs;
-- $728 million in school food service state and federal funding for K-12 schools;
-- $355 million in student grants from the PA Higher Education Assistance Agency;
-- $9 million in state and federal funds for the Department of Agriculture for the farmers market food coupon program;
-- $1.3 million for the Victims of Juvenile Offenders Program;
-- $18.9 million for the County Juvenile Probation Services Program;
-- $549.1 million for School District Pupil Transportation funding;
-- $8.5 million for the Safe Schools Initiative funding;
-- $1.2 billion: $457 million Individuals With Disabilities Education, $625 million local education Title I Programs, $130 million Teacher Improvement federal funding only;
-- $87.9 million Services To Nonpublic Schools funding;
-- $18.4 million State Food Bank Purchase Program funding in the Department of Agriculture’s budget;
-- $26.75 million Textbooks, Instructional Materials, Equipment For Nonpublic Schools funding; and
-- Community Based Health Care Subsidies, Cancer Screening Services, School District Health Services, Services for Children With Special Needs, Community Based Family Centers, Red Cross Extended Care Program, Nurse Family Partnership and federal appropriation for Medical Assistance and MCH Early Childhood Home Visiting Program [combining 7 motions].
-- $8.5 million for the Safe Schools Initiative funding;
-- $1.2 billion: $457 million Individuals With Disabilities Education, $625 million local education Title I Programs, $130 million Teacher Improvement federal funding only;
-- $87.9 million Services To Nonpublic Schools funding;
-- $18.4 million State Food Bank Purchase Program funding in the Department of Agriculture’s budget;
-- $26.75 million Textbooks, Instructional Materials, Equipment For Nonpublic Schools funding; and
-- Community Based Health Care Subsidies, Cancer Screening Services, School District Health Services, Services for Children With Special Needs, Community Based Family Centers, Red Cross Extended Care Program, Nurse Family Partnership and federal appropriation for Medical Assistance and MCH Early Childhood Home Visiting Program [combining 7 motions].
House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) said the House had the opportunity to provide money to social service and other groups in the 274 line items Democrats, Republicans and Gov. Wolf already agreed to, out of 401 line items.
Rep. Reed said lawmakers could get these groups funding by Friday if the vote was successful, since the Republican Senate would have come back to session Wednesday to vote the same overrides.
He also noted Republicans had agreed to another line item, not included in the veto override-- $400 million more for basic education.
House Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) called the Republican effort a political stunt that gave social service providers false hope of getting funding because the partial budget override vote is unconstitutional.
“The Republican budget was wrong on June 30 and it’s wrong now,” said Rep. Dermody.
On the constitutional issue, Rep. Dermody pointed to an advisory legal opinion from the Legislative Reference Bureau emailed to members during the debate saying the House had to consider a veto in the same character as the Governor presented it, meaning the entire budget veto can only be overridden.
Republicans said the opinion was just that, advisory, and noted the opinion said there has not been an instance in the past where a partial veto override was even attempted.
In his last comments before the final vote was taken, Rep. Bill Adolph (R-Delaware), Majority Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told members, “The end is NOT near” in terms of an overall budget agreement.The House adjourned until September 21, unless sooner recalled. It's the same day the Senate plans to return to Harrisburg.
Kane: Reassessing Appeal Of Right-To-Know Decision Over Pornographic Emails
[From Kane Press Release] Indicted Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane Tuesday announced her office will reassess its appeal to Commonwealth Court of an administrative officer’s ruling authorizing the release of pornographic and racially/religiously offensive emails and all relevant materials under Right-To-Know requests filed by media organizations across the Commonwealth.
Circumstances have changed with respect to the Right-To-Know requests currently under appeal by the OAG’s office to Commonwealth Court.
In the wake of the Attorney General’s call for Judge Carpenter to vacate the protective order covering this email chain, Judge Carpenter issued a statement the protective order did not cover these emails as they were not introduced as evidence before the 35th state investigative grand jury.
Within 24 hours of Carpenter’s statement, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unsealed two orders ruling “there are no present concerns with grand jury secrecy associated with such release.”
While these orders speak to the emails themselves, they do not speak to additional documents associated with these emails. Accordingly, upon unsealing these orders, the Supreme Court stated: “The court is presently engaged in a broader review to determine whether additional associated documents lodged in the prothonotary's office may now be unsealed.”
As the Right-To-Know requests filed with the OAG broadly cover the emails and all other materials related to them, the OAG is now awaiting the Supreme Court’s review of these “associated materials” so that the OAG has clear direction with respect to what materials it can and cannot disclose in its compliance with the outstanding RTK requests. It is our hope that such direction will be forthcoming prior to the Commonwealth Court hearing thereby making that hearing moot.
In the absence of direction from the Supreme Court prior to this hearing, the OAG intends to use the Commonwealth Court solely as a forum to seek a declaratory judgment from the Commonwealth Court as to substance and form of the OAG’s response to the RTK requests.
Attorney General Kane said, “I will not expose my office and the taxpayers of the Commonwealth to litigation or myself to further prosecution in the OAG’s response to the RTK requests concerning this email chain. To avoid this I am asking a court of jurisdiction to define what materials beyond the emails themselves can be released without violating grand jury secrecy laws covering these emails and their attending documents or the protective orders shielding their distributors.”
Quinnipiac Poll: Kane--Resign, Wolf--OK, Toomey Leads, Casey--OK
A new Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found Pennsylvania voters think indicted Attorney General Kathleen Kane should resign by a margin of 49 to 27 percent.
Democrats are divided 39 - 37 percent on whether Kane should resign while Republicans say 60 - 16 percent that she should go and independent voters agree 44 - 32 percent. Men favor resignation 51 - 27 percent and women say 46 - 27 percent that Kane should quit.
The Franklin & Marshall Poll this week found 46 percent of register voters thought Kane should resign.
The Franklin & Marshall Poll this week found 46 percent of register voters thought Kane should resign.
Gov. Tom Wolf gets a 45 - 39 percent approval rating. In June, the same poll found voters approved of Wolf’s performance 47 to 32 percent.
The F&M poll found a 39 percent approval rating for Wolf.
The F&M poll found a 39 percent approval rating for Wolf.
Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey leads Democratic challenger Joe Sestak 48 - 33 percent. Men back Toomey 57 - 29 percent. Women are divided, with 40 percent for Toomey and 37 percent for Sestak.
Toomey leads Katie McGinty, former chief of staff to Gov. Wolf, 48 - 32 percent, with men for Toomey 56 - 26 percent. Women are divided with 40 for Toomey and 38 percent for McGinty. (The F&M Poll Thursday generally found lower numbers in comparing the races, but about the same spread.)
Toomey gets a 49 - 26 percent job approval rating and a 46 - 23 percent favorability rating. For Sestak, 61 percent don't know enough to form an opinion and 74 percent don't know enough about McGinty.
U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. gets a 51 - 25 percent approval rating. Related Story:
F&M Poll: Voters Hold Legislature More Responsible For Budget Stalemate Than Wolf
Tuesday NewsClips
Kane Lawyer: Porngate Emails Part Of Case, Not Today
Kane Attorney Fails To Introduce Porngate Evidence
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Kane Attorney Fails To Introduce Porngate Evidence
August 24, 2015
New Poll Takes PA Voters’ Pulse On A Variety Of Issues In The Headlines
A new Quinnipiac University poll released Monday took the pulse of Pennsylvania voters on a variety of issues in recent headlines: more limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants, cutting off federal funding for Planned Parenthood, illegal immigration and sending U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
In coal-rich Pennsylvania, voters support 67 – 28 percent federal requirements that owners of coal-burning power plants reduce pollution.
Republicans oppose the proposed limits 51 – 45 percent, but every other party, gender or age group supports them by wide margins.
Voters say 72 – 24 percent these efforts are needed to clean the air, but they are divided 44 – 44 percent on whether these efforts will be too expensive.
“The coal industry has put food on the table for many generations in Pennsylvania, but nostalgia only goes so far. Voters want cleaner air and they want the feds to police the pollution,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
The gender gap persists as Pennsylvania voters oppose 55 - 39 percent cutting off federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Men oppose the fund cutoff by a narrow 49 - 45 percent, with women opposed 60 - 34 percent. Republicans support the cutoff 64 - 30 percent with Democrats opposed 82 - 11 percent and independent voters opposed 54 - 39 percent.
Offered three choices on illegal immigration:
-- 52 percent say immigrants should be allowed to stay, with a path to citizenship;
-- 9 percent say immigrants should be allowed to stay, with no path to citizenship; and
-- 37 percent say immigrants should be forced to leave.
Pennsylvania voters support 50 - 44 percent sending U.S. ground troops to fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Men support deployment 56 - 41 percent, with women divided 44 - 46 percent.
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