HARRISBURG – Gov. Edward G. Rendell today signed legislation that provides a mechanism for state employees to be paid, but does not provide a complete and final budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
“What I am signing today is not a budget,” said Rendell. “I am signing legislation that will simply allow us to pay state employees who provide for immediate critical public health and safety services, and that will send negotiators back to the table to communicate, compromise and get real about delivering a true budget agreement for Pennsylvania.”
Rendell signed Senate Bill 850 after he vetoed all program funding line items except those pertaining to payroll and essential public protection. The measure is an incomplete budget of roughly $11 billion.
“Citizens continue to pay their taxes while the budget negotiations go on, and they have a right to expect state government to continue doing its job,” said Rendell. “State employees have reported to work as scheduled for the past month and continued to do their jobs. They should not have to continue to wait to be paid for their work.”
The governor can only approve or disapprove appropriations, and cannot legally shift or change funding within a bill. Senate Bill 850 is not a legitimate budget bill because it is not balanced, as is required by the constitution. It is at least $1.7 billion out of balance.
“Most of all, Senate Bill 850 is not a legitimate budget because it robs Pennsylvania and its citizens of future opportunities,” said Rendell. “To continue to grow and progress, as Pennsylvania has done over the last six and a half years, we must also continue to invest in our assets. And our greatest asset is, in fact, our young people.
“So I call on the Conference Committee to begin work anew and in earnest. I call on every elected official to cancel their vacation plans and get ready to work each and every day. I call on all of us to put aside partisan politics and rigid ideology and work to pass a budget that protects and preserves the future of this great state.”
