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2015 Times Leader Girls Soccer All-Stars

Lottery Summary for the week of Dec. 13, 2015

<p>HARRISBURG &#8212; A proposal to revamp Pennsylvania&#8217;s two large public-sector pension systems was defeated overwhelmingly Saturday in the state House, collapsing a deal to solve the state&#8217;s 6-month-old budget impasse.</p><p>The House voted 149-52 against a bill that would have forced newly hired teachers and state workers into a hybrid system made up of a traditional pension alongside a 401(k)-style benefit. Every Democrat voted against the bill, along with a majority of Republicans.</p><p>House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, who argued strongly for the bill, said the next move will be to advance a stopgap budget. He said the pension changes were needed to address costs that have been increasing for school districts and state government.</p><p>&#8220;If that&#8217;s not possible, then new revenue is off the table as well, and we&#8217;re going to have to plan accordingly,&#8221; Reed told reporters after the vote. &#8220;It just went down pretty resoundingly.&#8221;</p><p>A stopgap may be a tough sell in the Senate. Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said the next move should be for the House to send over a full-year budget without any tax increases.</p><p>Layoffs in state government could soon occur, Corman said, warning that a deadline is also approaching for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program that funds private school scholarships.</p><p>&#8220;This is real &#8212; there&#8217;s consequences to not being able to get things done,&#8221; Corman said.</p><p>Gov. Tom Wolf, a first-term Democrat, called a news conference to urge negotiators to return to work.</p><p>&#8220;A stopgap is not the answer,&#8221; Wolf said. &#8220;We need a full-year budget.&#8221;</p><p>Rep. John McGinnis, R-Blair, argued on the floor that the proposal would have actually increased the state&#8217;s pension debt and that the Legislature should instead look to completely end the defined-benefit, traditional pension.</p><p>&#8220;We like to think that this is an honorable institution,&#8221; McGinnis said. &#8220;But by underfunding our pensions, we steal from children and from children not yet born. How is that honorable?&#8221;</p><p>Others warned the bill was vulnerable to a court challenge, and noted that it did not provide any immediate budget relief to school boards or lower the two pension systems&#8217; unfunded liabilities.</p><p>The bill would have been a step in the right direction, said Rep. Mike Tobash, R-Schuylkill, by shifting half the investment risk to the new hires and off the backs of taxpayers.</p><p>&#8220;This bill does not kick the can down the road,&#8221; Tobash said. &#8220;In fact, it forces our pension systems to get a sharper pencil and save money on investment fees.&#8221;</p><p>Schools and state government will have to keep raising taxes without pension reforms, said Rep. Kate Harper, R-Montgomery.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been here a few years,&#8221; Harper said. &#8220;I have yet to see a perfect bill. I&#8217;m still waiting.&#8221;</p><p>The pension changes were part of a framework that Wolf had negotiated with the Republican-controlled General Assembly, along with higher taxes to increase education funding and reforms to the state-controlled system of selling wine and liquor.</p><p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t have a choice,&#8221; Wolf told reporters. &#8220;We have got to balance the budget. We have got to make sure the math actually works.&#8221;</p><p>Wolf said Friday that he had obtained enough votes to get the taxes through the House, but the pension bill&#8217;s defeat pre-empted a tax vote.</p><p>Pennsylvania has been without a budget since the start of July, leaving schools and government agencies scrambling to pay bills.</p><p>The vote represents a win for unions that represent teachers and government workers, as well as for those who fought the tax increase.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wolf</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Wolf-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wolf</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>House overwhelmingly votes down measure</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Scolforo</p><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Budget deal dead after pension bill killed