HARRISBURG -- Tuesday is a big day in the Keystone State -- Pennsylvania will have a new leader by the afternoon.
Governor-elect Tom Wolf is getting sworn in at the capitol.
Wolf is set to take the oath of office at noon Tuesday to become Pennsylvania's 47th governor, and he's already been warning Pennsylvanians that the state faces some very serious challenges in the year to come.
Wolf went on a state wide tour during the transition days-- the days after his November win in the general election and today`s inauguration day.
The governor-elect said the state is $2 billion in the hole, and the reasons are declining revenue, increasing expenses, and an aging population that will rely more on government services and pensions.
Wolf charges the outgoing governor, Tom Corbett, relied on short term solutions and quick fixes to bring in revenue, and keep the state running, and that can no longer happen.
Whatever plan Wolf proposes, he will have to get it past the Republican controlled House and Senate-- a general assembly that is more Republican than the one of the last term.
We already know part of the Wolf solution. During the campaign, he repeatedly said he was in favor of a severance tax on gas drillers.
The new governor has until March to submit a budget to the General Assembly.
Over the weekend, Wolf said the first thing he will do after being sworn in is sign some executive orders dealing with ethics and accepting gifts.
Then, it's time to celebrate. There's an open house at the governor's mansion Tuesday afternoon, followed by the inaugural celebration, Tuesday night in Hershey.
