It still could be the political deal of the decade for Pennsylvanians — if Harrisburg doesn’t screw it up.

Gov. Tom Wolf continues to push for his severance tax on the natural gas industry. on Monday he lashed out at a coalition of more than a dozen business groups trying to derail the severance tax proposal. Wolf says they’re putting gas and oil interests ahead of the schools and children that will benefit from his plan.

“We cannot keep doing the same thing and expecting different results in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said in a response to the coalition led by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. “Now is the time to do big things in Pennsylvania.”

Truer words were never spoken. Now is the time, but the coalition — along with the Republican majorities in the state Legislature — has another big thing to accomplish: public pension reform.

In a letter sent last week to Wolf and members of the Legislature, the coalition said the natural gas industry has helped create about 200,000 jobs, paid more than $2 billion in various state taxes since 2008 and reduced energy costs across the state.

“A higher severance tax would drive our fastest-growing industry out of the state,” wrote chamber President Gene Barr.

Barr suggested that cutting the cost of public pensions makes more sense. “Until you fix the biggest fiscal crisis that we have, which is pensions, you can’t reasonably address anything else,” he said.

It’s hard to deny the size of the problem. Combined, the $51.7 billion Pennsylvania Public School Retirement System and the $27 billion Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System are more than $50 billion underfunded. Years of overly generous benefit increases, investment losses and chronic underfunding led to this gargantuan shortfall.

Last week, the state Senate passed its version of pension reform. The numbering of the legislation, Senate Bill 1, signals how highly Republican senators consider the need for pension reform.

The plan shifts new state and school employees into 401(k)-type plans (defined contribution as opposed to the current defined benefit) as well as in a cash balance plan. Current retirees’ benefits won’t affected by the Senate plan, nor are benefits already accrued to current employees.

Proponents say the Senate bill would save taxpayers $18 billion of the next 30 years.

The Senate bill now goes to the House, where hearings are scheduled for next month.

The apparent intent is to get a completed consensus bill to Gov. Wolf’s desk, along with a tacit proviso: If you really want a severance tax, you’ll have to approve pension reform first.

And the governor should sign it.

A severance tax makes sense, especially when Pennsylvania is the only state without one. Likewise, the state’s pension mess cannot continue to fester indefinitely without action to reform it.

Both actions will strengthen Pennsylvania’s business climate and benefit taxpayers.

Combined, pension reform and a severance tax constitute a grand deal. Gov. Wolf would be wise to embrace both.