Smart Talk: Where do state budget talks stand?

What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, January 6, 2016:

Pennsylvania is more than six months into the fiscal year and there still isn’t a final budget.

Last week, an angry Gov. Tom Wolf used his line-item veto power to blue line some $7 billion from a Republican passed $30.3 billion budget.  The move got money flowing to cash-starved schools and social service organizations that had been borrowing, scrimping, cutting services and laying off workers.

But it didn’t provide the state with a final spending plan.

As a result, negotiators are back at it this week trying to resolve issues the governor and Republican legislative leaders disagree on like taxes, spending and pension reform.

Wolf and Republican leaders said they had a framework in place before Thanksgiving.  The Senate approved a budget bill the governor called reasonable.  But House leaders balked saying they saw no need to raise taxes and didn’t know where additional revenue was coming from.

So, less than a month before Gov. Wolf is scheduled to propose next year’s budget, Wednesday’s Smart Talk focuses on the latest in the current deadlock.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Policy and Planning John Hanger and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman appear on the program.