Unfinished fiscal business brings Pa. lawmakers back to Harrisburg

    Pennsylvania State House lawmakers are coming back to Harrisburg to finish up budget business Monday.

    A final vote is expected to approve what’s called the fiscal code — a bill full of key fund transfers.

    The summer vote is a somewhat sore subject between chambers.

    It was prompted when the Senate took language out of the legislation that suggested the Legislature intended to legalize payday lending.

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    Such loans are controversial, and the Senate GOP leader said it didn’t belong in a budget-related item.

    The nonbinding language wasn’t a move to try to compel the Legislature to act, said House GOP spokesman Steve Miskin.

    “Just a note to self, trying to keep everybody on the same page, you know, where they were in the meetings,” he said. “It’s a very important issue for consumer protection.”

    The House isn’t the only chamber that added last-minute controversial provisions to budget-related items.

    The Senate added language to compel a Medicaid expansion and a tax credit to other key budget legislation — neither of which had been agreed to by House Republicans.

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