HARRISBURG -- We are already into February and there is still no state budget passed for 2015-2016. On Tuesday, Governor Tom Wolf will deliver his budget address for 2016-2017.
"He's required to do that by The Administrative Code," said Jeff Sheridan, the governor's press secretary.
The state's rules and regulations require Governor Wolf to propose a budget before the first full week of February. Sheridan says the plan now is to work on both budgets at the same time, and calls this new budget a "two-year budget."
"It's not one or the other. What the governor's going to lay out tomorrow is 2015-2016, what he hoped to accomplish in 2015, building off of that for 2016-2017," Sheridan said.
State lawmakers from both sides are interested to hear the budget proposal, and point out that some of their colleagues are not budging when it comes to passing the budget.
"I do hear it from my colleagues, Republican and Democrat. I think there is a growing concern. We really need to get down to business. Of course, there are the fringes in both parties that want to play to a base," Senator John Yudichak said.
"87 percent of the budget is funded. There are areas that are very important to the state like agriculture, which is our number one industry. Education and the Department of Corrections that were blue-lined, amongst many other areas, so I think we need to continue to go forward with those," State Representative Lynda Schlegel-Culver said.
Although the political parties disagree on many things, they can both agree on one thing. The taxpayers need and deserve to see a budget passed.
"They're outraged and they should be outraged. We had a job to do in the last fiscal year and it's incomplete," Yudichak said.
"If you ask any of my constituents, we're back home, we're listening to them," Schlegel-Culver said.
Governor Wolf will deliver his budget address for 2016-2017 Tuesday morning.