HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday asked lawmakers to send him a bill to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults, and outlined how he thinks the state should spend much of the $1.3 billion remaining in federal coronavirus relief funds during what's left of lawmakers' two-year session.

The Democratic governor urged the General Assembly to put $225 million toward hazard pay for more than 200,000 workers on the front lines of responding to the pandemic, effectively giving them all $3-an-hour wage increases.

The state House and Senate have 11 session days over four scattered weeks left before the November election, a limited period to wrap up their business as the two-year session winds down.

State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, said she was eager to “get back to Harrisburg” next week to discuss these proposals, but added that she'd hoped Wolf would have announced more plans for the re-opening of Pennsylvania businesses.

“I really wished that he announced today that restaurants and bars could open at full capacity,” Mustello said.

Leaders of the Republican majorities in both chambers have criticized Wolf during the pandemic period for what they consider a governing approach that has not given them sufficient input, and Wolf's agenda is highly unlikely to be enacted in full, or without changes.

Pennsylvania received nearly $4 billion in federal coronavirus funds, but when lawmakers and Wolf allocated about two-thirds of it in May, they set aside the $1.3 billion that remained, and Wolf wants to spend much of that reserve.

House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, a Republican from Centre County, was dismissive of the governor's proposals.

“It is disingenuous for this governor to put forward an unaffordable legislative agenda and require taxpayers to bail him out of his unilateral mandates that have devastated their lives and livelihoods,” Benninghoff said.

He said a House session next week will focus on “finding the normalcy Pennsylvanians have long desired.”

Mustello agreed with Benninghoff's concerns, saying she believes the governor's proposal to legalize and tax recreational marijuana would be unnecessary if more businesses were open at full capacity throughout the state.

“Of course, I want to help frontline workers,” she said. “You want to help these causes, but again I don't know where the money's coming from.”

Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-34th, said Wolf has not held a call with legislative leaders since last month, and called the governor's fall agenda a political document.

Wolf wants to direct some of the tax revenues from the sale of recreational marijuana to a program to repair what he called a release of “the harm done to crime victims and communities as a result of marijuana criminalization.”

About half the proposed weed tax would go to help historically disadvantaged businesses, which are those more than half owned and operated by people who are Black, Hispanic, Native American or Pacific Islander — groups deemed to have traditionally been discriminated against in financial dealings.

But some Butler County representatives said they were vehemently against the legalization of recreational marijuana, saying they believe it plays a role in crime.

“I do not support the legalization of marijuana. As a former prosecutor, I've seen the devastating effects of marijuana on families and society and the alteration of behavior in a criminal manner,” said state Rep. Tim Bonner, R-8th. “I have also been involved in many cases where marijuana usage has led to more serious criminal activity, including the greater use of other devastating drugs.”

Bonner added too that he was concerned about the government benefitting from the legalization of recreational drugs, much as there were concerns about the state adding to its coffers from gambling taxes.

“I do not believe that the government should rely upon the taxation of gambling and the taxation of marijuana, if legalized, as a means to finance governmental programs,” he said. “The use of gambling and drugs as a source of tax revenue creates more problems than it solves and adds to a very unstable environment.”

Wolf signed legislation authorizing the state's medical marijuana program in 2016, and last fall announced he also supported making the drug legal for recreational purposes. Pennsylvania law treats possession of any marijuana outside the medical marijuana program as a crime, although there is a diversion program for first-time, nonviolent offenders and a few municipalities have enacted what is effectively decriminalization of possession of very small amounts.

Wolf said he hoped there would be support for legalization for those at least 21 years old within the GOP-dominated Legislature.

“I think we've had a little more time to see what's happened in places like Colorado with revenues, for example, that this might be one way to plug a hole,” Wolf said at press event outside a child care center in Middletown.

Wolf's plan for the federal coronavirus relief money would spend $225 million for forgivable loans and grants through the COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance Program. Another $100 million in forgivable loans and grants would go to the hospitality, leisure and service industries, including restaurants, bars, salons and barber shops.

Wolf also wants to spend $10 million to help employers buy personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies, with grants of up to $5,000 for businesses with fewer than 150 workers. The money would also fund masks, shields and cleaning supplies for county election workers.

Wolf proposes $250 million for child care, including $50 million so low-income communities can establish safe remote learning systems in school districts that will not have in-person instruction.

The governor also wants $100 million for a grant program to help prevent gas, electric and water utilities from being shut off at homes. He also urged lawmakers to help low- and moderate-income renters.

Bonner said he was concerned by the governor's proposals for increased spending, saying the economic impact of Wolf's shutdown orders already make difficult the state constitution's requirement to pass a balanced budget even without any new expenditures.

“I am certain that the General Assembly will give the governor's spending request proper and respectful consideration, but the governor must realize that due to his unilateral shutdown of the economy the state has a projected shortfall of $1.1 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, and the projected shortfall of $3.2 billion for the current fiscal year if there are no new spending programs,” he said. “The deficits must be addressed as required by our constitution before new spending programs can be considered.”

The governor's fall legislative agenda also calls for suspending the alcohol tax for six months and letting businesses purchase booze at cost from the state during that period, both measures designed to help the state's restaurants and bars.

Mustello emphasized that she believes these actions are unnecessarily brought on by Wolf's orders to close businesses and the increasingly long amount of time it has taken to reopen them fully.

“We would've been in a lot better shape had he worked with us in opening Pennsylvania safely and been more transparent in more of his actions and the secretary of health's actions,” she said.

Eagle staff writer Alex J. Weidenhof contributed to this report.