At this point, about the only thing missing in Harrisburg is a Big Top.
Yes, the circus is still in town.
Remember last week when I told you that a budget deal - including the state's first-ever severance tax on natural gas drillers - was imminent.
Uh, never mind.
It now appears that is in fact not going to fly.
All hail Mike Turzai. The Allegheny Republican and Speaker of the House continues to lead a band of conservative Republicans in the House who are adamantly opposed to any such new tax plan.
As you might recall, the state Senate approved a funding plan that included a slew of new taxes, including the new levy on the Marcellus Shale folks. That measure was championed by Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-26, of Springfield, and other moderates from southeastern Pennsylvania.
But the plan has gone nowhere in the House.
In the meantime, the state still has a budget, which was passed just before the deadline back on June 30, without a funding mechanism. And that $2 billion shortfall has not gone away either.
Earlier this week, it looked like a new tax on storage facilities might be in the works.
Today it's a potential increase in the hotel tax. The move would nearly double the current levy, something that is not exactly making tourism groups and hotel folks do cartwheels.
The House plan would hike the state hotel tax from 6 percent to 11 percent and put the Keystone State among the top 10 states nationally in terms of their hotel tax.
It would give Philadelphia and Pittsburgh the dubious distinction of having the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 highest hotel taxes.
The measure could be debated in Harrisburg today.
We'll check in today with Delaware County tourism folks, the Chamber of Commerce and our local state House delegation to see whether or not this donkey will fly.
Just remember our personal state slogan:
Pennsylvania: Land of Giants.
And, apparently, a giant increase in the hotel tax.
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