In final week of Pa. legislative session, three big issues unresolved

Pennsylvania’s budget deadline is a week away, but the spending plan is practically an afterthought to lawmakers as Gov. Tom Corbett’s other priorities remain unresolved.

 

A scaled-back pension overhaul proposal is advancing in the Senate and still needs House approval.

But it’s not the subject of intense disagreement between the chambers, the way that transportation funding and liquor privatization are, according to Senate GOP spokesman Erik Arneson.

“We’re still focusing on trying to get all three done, but I certainly understand the logic of people who think that pension reform seems the likeliest,” Arneson said.

A $2.5 billion plan to fix roads and bridges has passed the Senate and is being taken up by the House, where Republicans would like to delete or lessen some proposed fines and tax increases to bring the total expense down.

A proposal to privatize liquor system has passed the House but neither Senate Republicans nor its Democrats want to pass something that looks remotely similar to what the governor wants, which is a definitive end to the state stores and the commonwealth’s wholesale operation for wine and liquor