Priorities out of whack?
Anyone reviewing the list of what will close and what will remain open if thousands of state government workers are furloughed Monday might think the state’s priorities are out of whack.
State driver’s license centers will close, so if you need a photo taken for your driver’s license, you’re out of luck. But if you’re feeling lucky even after 7-7-07, feel free to snatch up a few lottery tickets. The state lottery will keep humming along, budget deal or not.
So, you say you’ve reserved a campsite at a state park next week? After all, July is one of the busiest months for tourism in a state always anxious to promote itself as a tourist destination.
Too bad. State parks are on the list of closures if the budget stalemate continues. But while recreation at a state park might be out of the question come Monday, state liquor stores will stay open. So you can buy all the booze you want while you’re stuck at home.
There’s actually logic to this seeming lack of logic.
Only functions of state government paid for out of the general fund would be affected by the furloughs. The state lottery and the state liquor stores are self supporting, so they get to stay open.
Less logical is the fact that, for a fifth straight year, the state’s elected officials failed to meet the July 1 budget deadline.
Think about that for a moment. There are 501 public school districts in the state. Each faces a July 1 budget deadline. Each managed to adopt a budget by July 1. If school districts failed to do so on a regular basis, you can be sure state lawmakers would be drafting legislation to make sure they snapped into line.
Seems like state officials might need more incentive to meet their own budget deadline. Or more disincentive to make sure the budget deadline isn’t missed.
Perhaps the state sales tax should expire when the budget isn’t completed on time. One hour of no sales tax revenue, and here’s betting we’d have a budget deal.
Anyway, this inability to complete a budget on time seems like a perfect topic for the reformers in Harrisburg to tackle.