Wolf says jobless centers will close over funding shortfall
(AP file photo)
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says workers will be laid off and some of the eight unemployment compensation call centers will close after the Senate adjourned without providing sufficient funding.
The Senate ended its two-year session Wednesday without voting on legislation the administration sought to pump $57.5 million into the system next year.
The Democratic governor calls the Republican-controlled Senate’s inaction “incredibly disappointing and frustrating .”
The Legislature authorized a four-year funding bill in 2013 after federal officials accused Pennsylvania of failing to pay first-time unemployment benefits in a timely manner.
A Senate GOP spokeswoman says the 2013 bill wasn’t meant to be an unlimited funding program and the administration needed to plan for changes to the system.
She says the bill can come up again next year.
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