July 27th, 2009

Last week, HealthPoint reported that legislators and Rendell said they would be hard at work over the weekend on the budget, having talks and compromising all over the place.

Today, the Patriot-News reported that their sources said those weekend talks  between Rendell, his top staffers and legislative leaders “produced little in the way of tangible agreement.”

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi backed that thought up, saying he saw no reason to believe a solution is around the corner and that “We’re still very far apart, and we still have a lot of ground to cover before we come to an agreement.”

Senate Republicans still want to spend $27.1 billion at the most, and the Dems and Rendell still say that that amount is unacceptably low.

The Patriot also says that in trying to find a middle ground on the spending level, the weekend’s talks discussed ways to raise revenue through targeted taxes and one-time sources such as the Rainy Day Fund.

One proposed way of raising money that definitely doesn’t seem like it will move forward is a bill that would allow counties and municipalities to offset property taxes with a one percent sales tax increase.  It looks like that bill will stall out in a House committee.

John Micek, the government guy over at the Morning Call, gives a good recap: Rendell is backing a $28.8 billion budget that makes new investments in public education and social welfare programs; House Democrats are pushing a $29.1 billion proposal that would cleave off $1.3 billion in state support for higher education and put it into a free-standing account without suggesting a way to pay for it; and Senate Republicans back a $27.1 billion plan that makes broad cuts across state government and uses a number of one-time revenue sources to dodge a tax increase.

He also relays the words of Muhlenberg College political science professor Christopher Borick, who contends that with the state facing a roughly $3.3 billion deficit, the budget more than three weeks late, and his approval ratings in the cellar, Rendell might not have as much leverage as he once had, saying ”It’s late in the game and his best stuff is gone… he’s working with junk just to get himself out of a jam.”

Sigh.  So what does this week have in store?  Will that conference committee we mentioned on Friday actually happen today?  Perhaps we’ll get some insight around lunchtime– The Gov has just announced that he will hold a press conference at noon in the Capitol’s Reception Room.