Butler County’s state senators defended the $30.1 million state budget that was vetoed Tuesday night by Gov. Tom Wolf.

Now they said they’re not sure what to expect as negotiations between legislative leaders and the governor begin.

• Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, called it a “good, responsible budget.”

He said the budget divests the state from its liquor business and curbs unseasonable growth in school property taxes through companion legislation privatizing state liquor stores and reforming public pension plans.

Vogel said he has no idea what to expect as negotiations between Wolf’s staff and legislative leaders will restart Monday.

“I’m not sure when we’re going back,” Vogel said.

• Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, said in a news release that Republicans “simply could not support the massive tax increases and expansion of government” that Wolf’s budget proposal represented.

He called Republicans’ $30.1 billion budget a “fiscally responsible” alternative.

Hutchinson said public pension reform should be a priority, and called the senate’s budget companion bill “an essential package of reforms,” that would make retirement systems for state and public school employees viable over the long term.

The pension bill shifts new employees into 401(k)-style plans and away from defined benefit plans.

Hutchinson said another budget companion bill from the House, closing Pennsylvania’s liquor store system, also is responsible and reflected public opinion.

“Pennsylvanians have made it abundantly clear that they want to get the commonwealth out of the (liquor business),” Hutchinson said.

• Sen. Donald White, R-41st, called the vetoed budget a financially responsible alternative to a “ludicrous” proposal from Wolf.

He called Wolf’s tax proposals “absurd,” and said he was waiting to see how the governor addressed the legislature’s pension reform and liquor privatization bills.

“I was pretty proud of how we (Republicans) held together, didn’t give in (on the budget),” White said.

White said concerns over state revenue collections have been overblown, in his opinion.

“It’s certainly not doomsday,” he said. ‘Yes, our revenues aren’t what they were expected, but they’re making a recovery.”

White said he sees the current gap on what the state budget should be as being wide between Wolf and legislative leaders.

“I don’t think my caucus is interested in going out on a line like the governor has and getting $4 billion to support the budget,” White said. “Everybody who has a mortgage understands that’s not what you do.”