HARRISBURG, PA — Republican state lawmakers left Harrisburg on the day before Christmas Eve, and left Gov. Tom Wolf with a budget—but not the one they had been negotiating for six months. On December 29, Wolf signed the budget, which will allow funding for education and social services to flow; but he also vetoed parts of it, which will force Republicans to further negotiate with him.

Wolf said in a statement, “I’m vetoing their plans to cut $95 million from education. I’m also vetoing other items that they don’t pay for.”

Republicans blamed Wolf for plunging the state into a budget crises. Republicans in the Senate found a way to compromise with Wolf, but could not bring along Republicans in the House, so in the final days, the Republicans in the Senate switched strategies and went along with the House.

Sen. Lisa Baker issued a statement saying, “From my standpoint, passage of this partial state budget was not designed to be the end of the process. This was an emergency move that at least ends the disruption and uncertainty for the majority of program providers and service recipients, who can begin receiving badly needed state and federal funding, now six months overdue. There still appears to be substantial negotiation required to reach agreement on final spending levels, revenues to support that spending, formulas for distributing money fairly, and the biggest challenge of all, pension reform.”