Framework for $27.656B budget reached.

http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2012/06/framework-for-27656b-budget-reached.html FROM THE MORNING CALL ov. Tom Corbett and legislative Republicans said Wednesday that they’d arrived at a “framework” for a Pennsylvania-capitol$27.656 billion state budget for 2012-13 that adds money to some state programs that had originally been targeted for cuts. The spending plan’s bottom line is a roughly $500 million increase from the $27.14 billion budget that Corbett presented to lawmakers in February. The increase was partly fueled by what are expected to be healthy June tax collections. It also roughly matches the bottom line of an amended version of the spending plan approved by the Senate earlier this spring. “We have the framework of an agreement. And we have a lot of work to do,” Corbett said at Capitol news conference, where he was flanked by GOP legislative leaders and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley. “I’m not going into the details right now.” Corbett declined to comment on what accounts might have received additional money. The Republican governor had targeted Pennsylvania’s state-related and state-owned universities, social welfare programs and other areas for cuts in his original spending proposal for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Money for those programs was partially or fully added back in an amended version of the spending plan approved by the Senate and awaiting action by the House. “We’ve taken a look at the revenue numbers and made the determination that $27.656 billion is what we’re able to work with,” Corbett said. “We believe it’s sustainable.” Corbett similarly declined to comment on any of the bills that have been pulled into the budget’s orbit – including school reform and prison reform. He did say, however, that he “[believes] there is agreement" on a proposed $1.65 billion, 25-year tax credit program for Shell and other petrochemical producers which the administration had maintained was “essential” to inking a deal. On Wednesday afternoon, Corbett, joined by lobbyists, labor leaders, industry interests and lawmakers, launched a public defense of the program, arguing that it could spark a “new industrial revolution” resulting in thousands of new jobs. Still ahead of lawmakers is the hours of drafting it will take to turn the concepts agreed to on Wednesday into dry legislativese. Throughout the week, Senate GOP leaders had contended that they needed to reach an agreement by Wednesday in order to accommodate the Byzantine process of printing and proofing legislative language for the general fund bill as well as about a half-dozen pieces of enabling legislation to meet the June 30 deadline to approve a new spending plan. Some of those bills are already before the two chambers and would have to be amended to include compromise language agreed to by the administration and legislative negotiators, said Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware. “It’ll be a full week of legislation next week,” Arneson said. “I have every reason to think we’’ll be here through Thursday of next week.”