Grove Questions Governor’s Decision to Allow Unbalanced Budget to Become Law
HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to allow an unbalanced budget bill to become law without his signature on Monday night is a clear demonstration of Wolf’s failure to govern, said Rep. Seth Grove (R-Dover).
Grove
delivered a letter, co-signed by 19 of his House colleagues, to the governor Monday afternoon, asking when the administration will certify revenue for the new fiscal year. Certifying a revenue estimate is a key element of enacting the annual state budget and ensuring it is balanced.
“The governor has the authority – and the duty – to use his line-item veto authority to bring this budget into balance,” he said.
The letter to Wolf outlines Grove’s case for why the governor has a duty to certify revenue for the fiscal year and to implement line item vetoes.
State law calls on the governor to “certify that any appropriation bill does not cause total appropriations to exceed revenues plus any unappropriated surplus.” The state’s Administrative Code goes on to say, “The governor shall item veto any part of any appropriation bill that causes total appropriations to exceed the official estimate plus any unappropriated surplus.” Additionally, Article 8, Section 13 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania says appropriations may not exceed the actual and estimated revenues and surplus available in the same fiscal year.
Finally,
the letter cites a 1932 Supreme Court ruling which directed the state to reduce spending pro-rata by the same percentage that expenditures exceeded available revenues.
“Planning to spend beyond the revenue available was not an option then and it’s not an option now,” Grove said.
Representative Seth Grove
196th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Patricia A. Hippler
phippler@pahousegop.com
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