No matter when and/or how Pennsylvania’s budget impasse ends, members of the General Assembly need to exercise an examination of conscience into why they allowed the current fiscal embarrassment to persist for so long — now having passed the three-month mark for a basic budget-preparation responsibility that should have been completed by the June 30 deadline.

There are people in this state who believe if lawmakers don’t want to do their job they should resign and presumably allow someone more responsible and responsive — some people would use the word “competent” — to take their place and finish the work.

Meanwhile, there are other Pennsylvania residents who, once they hear about what is happening in Minnesota and some other state capitals, might recommend that Pennsylvania “follow the leaders.”

That would be good advice, all considered.

Here’s a brief explanation of what is happening in Minnesota, as reported in an article in the Wall Street Journal’s Oct. 7 edition:

“In today’s toxic climate, Minnesota lawmakers from both parties are attempting something different — bipartisan harmony.

“The Minnesota Legislature has a ‘Civility Caucus’ of Republican and Democratic legislators on an improbable mission: getting opposing lawmakers talking, solving problems — and proving to the public they can.”

Other states beginning to opt for a similar approach are Arkansas and Kansas.

In Arkansas, state Sen. Jamie Scott, a Democrat, makes it a point to note that she values her ties with Republicans, including fellow Arkansas state Sen. Breanne Davis.

Scott and Davis are co-chairwomen of their state’s Future Caucus chapter, and Scott wants the public to notice them working together.

Future Caucus targets Gen Z and millennial legislators to “bridge the partisan divide.”

In Kansas, Democratic state Rep. Brandon Woodard and GOP state Sen. Tory Marie Blew, both of whom co-chair the Future Caucus chapter in their state, are so close that they share their phones’ locations with each other, even though, as Blew points out, they are politically “polar opposite.”

“We’re starting a movement that you can interact with the people across the aisle — they’re not the devil,” said Blew, a conservative from a rural district.

As for Woodard, who heads the Democrats’ House minority, working with the GOP supermajority is crucial. He says he realizes “this is the only way to get anything done.”

But then there’s Pennsylvania, where political observers on both sides of the aisle were saying, as September evolved into October, that there appeared to be no single issue standing in the way of ending the 2025-26 budget-preparation gridlock.

John Finnerty, a reporter for Capitolwire, indicated in an article published in the Sept. 23 Mirror, that “one factor (for the unfinished budget business) might just be that there isn’t enough public attention to compel lawmakers to feel like they need to make a deal.”

Perhaps many people have been distracted by the budget-related gridlock in Washington.

However, counties, school districts and nonprofits increasingly are noticing a tightening financial noose around their operations and that does not portend good news in the weeks — or perhaps months — ahead.

What a disgrace. A state so important regarding this country’s founding — and now proudly proclaiming its ties to the Liberty Bell on its new license plates — can’t even muster compromise for a task so important.

Go figure.