Standard and Poor’s announced on Wednesday morning that they are downgrading Pennsylvania’s bond rating amid the ongoing budget stalemate, the failure of lawmakers to fix Pennsylvania’s chronic structural imbalance, and weakening liquidity.

House Republicans on Wednesday passed what they entitled “The Putting People First Budget,” a budget-balancing plan that provides $2.3 billion in funding to close the $2.2 billion accumulated budget deficit facing the Commonwealth in FY 2017-2018, by a vote of 103 to 91. 

Things didn’t quite go as expected Tuesday for the House Republican Caucus who, as late as Monday afternoon, was eyeing a vote on some version of a plan to balance the state budget by transferring special fund money into the General Fund as an attempt to close the state’s $2.2 billion deficit.

By Tuesday afternoon, the House adjourned without taking up the plan and legislative leaders met with the House Taxpayer Caucus—the main proponents of the special funds plan— and some Southeastern lawmakers to try to rework their strategy in order to gain enough votes to get some budget-balancing plan to the Senate by week’s end.

Progress toward an eventual budget solution crept forward on Tuesday as several dozen House Republicans gathered in the state Capitol for a briefing on a plan some members have developed that relies mainly on special fund transfers to dig Pennsylvania out of its current $2.2 billion deficit.

As the House continues to mull over a suitable revenue package to cover the approved spending plan, two key components of Gov. Wolf’s budget proposal face a similarly tenuous road: the creation of a consolidated Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Department of Criminal Justice (DCJ).