Neither state can pass a budget on time!

Yup, Pennsylvania doesn’t have a budget yet either – but there is something interesting happening up north that hasn’t been talked about down here yet.

According to this news article, there is a bill in the PA legislature that would suspend payment to lawmakers during a budget impasse.  Hmmmm – maybe if NC lawmakers didn’t get a paycheck while they argued about the budget they would compromise a bit quicker while saving taxpayer dollars?

A Franklin & Marshall College poll last month found a majority of registered voters believe state lawmakers should not be paid during budget negotiations when the budget is late. That sentiment was consistent across party lines, expressed by 67 percent of Republicans polled, 64 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of independents, said Terry Madonna, director of the poll and professor of public affairs at the college.

Some legislators have voluntarily given up their salaries since July 1. Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-Dauphin, who is the sponsor of a bill that would suspend compensation for lawmakers during a budget impasse, is not accepting his salary and said he is borrowing funds from his bank in the meantime.