Wolf strikes back at GOP lawmakers on Pa. budget tactic

Gov. Tom Wolf is blasting Republican lawmakers over a plan to force piece-by-piece override votes of his budget bill veto, saying GOP leaders can’t negotiate in good faith while staging what he calls an unconstitutional and unproductive move.

Wolf’s comments in a letter to Pennsylvania lawmakers Monday afternoon came a day before the planned veto override votes and the resumption of talks on an 8-week-old budget stalemate that’s shut off funding to a range of safety-net services.

Pennsylvania is nearly two months into its new fiscal year without a legal spending plan in place. On June 30, Wolf vetoed the GOP’s entire $30.2 billion budget bill within hours of its passage with only Republican support.

Republicans accuse of Wolf of holding the safety-net service providers hostage to get what he wants.