June 2nd, 2009

The Patriot-News reports on Rendell’s announcements concerning the budget today: 

Gov. Ed Rendell, speaking on the state’s budget troubles, said today he is in the process of paring his original $29 billion budget plan for 2009-2010 by $400 to $500 million.

Rendell said his cuts – which administration officials said have not been finalized yet – are a realization of the steady deterioration in the state’s fiscal picture since his budget was first proposed in February.

But they won’t, he added, be as deep as those proposed by the Republican-led state Senate, which passed an alternative plan last month that cuts new spending all the way back to $27.3 billion.

The governor also acknowledged a broad-based tax increase may be needed to balance the plan, though he said he hopes to avoid it.