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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said he would not stop a roughly $31 billion election-year spending bill from becoming law, even though the gridlocked Pennsylvania Legislature remained unable to explain Sunday how it would pay for it. Wolf made the revelation during a Sunday evening Capitol news conference, just 30 hours before his midnight Monday deadline to act on the spending bill that lawmakers passed June 30. Wolf said he would let the spending bill become law without his signature if the Republican-controlled Legislature does not produce an acceptable revenue package to fund it. Wolf's move prompted head scratching in the Capitol as to whether the move was constitutional or what effect, if any, it could ultimately have on programs should lawmakers fail to approve a tax increase to fund a budget most of them voted for. Top lawmakers, however, did not object to Wolf's move. Wolf couched his decision by highlighting what the spending bill offers — more aid to schools, for instance — and pointed out that it had bipartisan support, despite Republicans having squeezed significant concessions from Wolf. "Now we must pay for the promises in the general appropriations bill," Wolf said. Republican majority leaders have pledged to assemble a $1.3 billion revenue package to help shore up Pennsylvania's deficit-riddled finances, and Wolf said he takes them at their word that it will happen soon. "But we should all be clear about what that means," Wolf said. "Paying for what has been appropriated must be done with sustainable, recurring and sufficient revenues." He went on to take a shot at some of the ideas being floated by lawmakers — House Republicans, in particular. Taking out loans, moving money from different funds or using other sources of stopgap cash "will not move Pennsylvania forward, nor will it pay for this budget," Wolf said. Closed-door revenue discussions revolve around a $1.3 billion package that relies heavily on a $1 per-pack cigarette tax increase, to $2.60 per pack, and an expansion of casino-style gambling that would make Pennsylvania the fourth state to legalize internet gambling. Wolf refused to say what he would do should the Legislature fail to approve a revenue package he embraces. "I don't expect that to arise," Wolf said. The governor's aides later said the administration cannot spend more money than it has coming in. But it couldn't immediately say how that would affect programs. Questioned about the constitutional implications, the governor's office pointed to a provision that says budget appropriations made by the Legislature "shall not exceed the actual and estimated revenues and surplus available in the same fiscal year." In any case, Wolf's move took pressure off lawmakers to act before midnight Monday, and seemed sure to cement Wolf's second budget as the second to become law without his signature. Pennsylvania is the only state government without an enacted budget for part or all of the 2016-17 fiscal year that began July 1, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers. This latest stalemate has emerged barely three months after Wolf and the Legislature ended a record-breaking stalemate in the just-ended fiscal year. It looked increasingly doubtful that a revenue package would make it to the governor's desk Monday. House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, said negotiators still have disagreements over some elements of a $1.3 billion revenue package. The money is necessary to help pay for the spending bill on Wolf's desk, plus another nearly $600 million in aid to Penn State, Temple, Pitt, Lincoln and Penn that remains in limbo in the House, budget negotiators say. Legalizing a gambling expansion to the internet could generate lucrative license fees right away, lawmakers say. However, the House and Senate do not see eye to eye on the sprawling gambling legislation, and no such bill has reached Wolf's desk, much less passed the Senate. The revenue package also could extend a 40 percent wholesale tax to sales of larger cigars, loose tobacco, smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes. Pennsylvania's $1.60 per pack tax on cigarettes is tied for the nation's 23rd highest with Ohio and Delaware, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Increasing it by $1 to $2.60 would make it the nation's 10th highest cigarette tax. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Wolf said he would let the spending bill become law without his signature if it lacks funding, not with.

Wolf to let budget bill become law despite funding questions