10:29 p.m. Another attempt to raise the income tax

This is the third time the board is open to vote on HB5194, raising the income tax to 4.6%. Counting votes...there are 44 "yes" votes on the board. 49 "no" votes. 4 Republicans are not here. They would all be "no" votes, so we are essentially at 53 "no" votes. One Democrat has cast her vote. Lisa Wojno is a "no". 13 Democrats have not voted. The only thing this latest effort seems to have revealed is that the Republicans are holding and one Democrat has come over to our side.

Just to recap, the House has been in session since 10:00 a.m. Friday; 36 1/2 hours straight. Only one vote has been recorded, the effort to pass the "decoy" spending bill. There has been four tries to raise taxes, none have come close.

I guess the Democrats are trying to wear the Republicans down. So far, they have been unsuccessful. Our resolve seems to have strengthened. We know there are ways to balance this budget without hurting schools, police, fire, prisons, essential social services or State Police. As the minority, we can only wait until the Dems give up on the effort to raise taxes, then they might be willing to work with us to make the reforms we have ready to offer.