The Nest looked at the calendar and saw only three weeks remain before the state budget deadline, and the drums are beating in Harrisburg over the possible furlough of state employees. If you remember last year, when Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell and Senate Republicans couldn’t compromise on the budget, state workers were shut out of their jobs (and pay) for one day before everyone came together. Rendell has threatened to furlough workers again, and the Senate GOP has a response in Senate Bill 1122.
The bill - sponsored by Republican Sen. Jeff Piccola of Dauphin County (a former gubernatorial candidate) - would prohibit a temporary layoff of state workers. Watch this week as Senate Republicans haul in Rendell’s Secretary of Administration, Naomi Wyatt, to explain the “rationale behind the governor’s position” on SB 1122, which we’ll assume means the Guv opposes it. Classic trap here, raising the profile of an ugly subject (furloughs) and asking why Rendell is on the wrong side of the issue. If Wyatt says the Guv supports the bill, then wallah, he can’t furlough workers after June 30 without losing popular favor and any momentum he has to get the agenda (health care reform, alternative energy development) done. If Wyatt says Rendell opposes SB 1122, Senate Republicans are going to paint the Guv with unflattering colors prior to any decision on laying off state employees.
Sounds like things are just honky dory in state Capitol Land.
