Welcome to Capitol Notes, a regular, online-only, easy-to-swallow capsule of state news tidbits that didn't make it into newsprint.

BIG ISSUES, LITTLE TIME
Gov. Ed Rendell thinks that reaching a compromise on spending for medical assistance to the poor will be the toughest issue of the 2005-06 state budget negotiations, which go into high gear next week. An agreement probably won't be reached until the normal budget deadline of June 30 -- or maybe not until the first week in July.

"[Medicaid] drives everything, because it's so costly," he told reporters this week. In the $23.8 billion budget he proposed in February, Rendell increased the Department of Public Welfare's budget by $612 million, for a total of $7.9 billion.

But he also proposed $580 million in Medicaid savings by limiting hospital and doctor visits and putting co-pays on drugs for lower-income people, moves which have caused protests by recipients and hospitals.

Currently, 1.7 million Pennsylvanians receive help through Medicaid, a number that Rendell expects to rise by 100,000 this year. While limiting some costs, he said he's proud that he didn't propose cutting anyone off the rolls.

Two other controversial issues also are likely for consideration in the wee small hours before the Legislature adjourns for its three-month summer recess.

They are a possible pay raise for legislators and judges, and an increase in the minimum wage. Rendell said he'd favor putting the state's minimum wage at $7.15 an hour, up from the current $5.15 an hour, though the jump could be made over two or three years.

Ralph Cappy, chief justice of the state Supreme Court, still is pushing for a pay raise for judges, and Rendell said he could go along with that. Legislative leaders came close to approving pay raises for Rendell, legislators and judges in November, but the deal fell apart in the final hours of the last session.

Rumors have surfaced this month that legislators may seek an increase in their $69,647 salary before they go home for the summer. The salary is in addition to a car lease of up to $650 per month and $126 a day in "per diem expenses" for traveling to Harrisburg on session days.

THE COLOR ORANGE
Gov. Ed Rendell looked out upon a sea of orange T-shirts -- worn by several hundred members of the American Association of Retired People -- and said he liked the color orange.

That may not sound like much, but Rendell said it was a big thing for him to admit. Why? Because he's a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and normally doesn't like orange because it's the color of Princeton, an Ivy League competitor of Penn.

"You look great today in your orange T-shirts," he told the swarm of retirees, who, of course, compose a major voting bloc that Rendell will need to woo when he runs for re-election next year.

Rendell touted his achievements in expanding the PACE and PACENET programs to provide affordable pharmaceuticals for lower-income senior citizens, as well as efforts to bring property tax relief. Because the state Lottery is bringing in additional revenue, the drug programs will serve about 300,000 elderly by the end of this year, compared to 190,000 on the rolls when he became governor in 2003.

Some in the large crowd that gathered on the Capitol lawn Tuesday shouted for him to eliminate property taxes totally, but he said that would require $9 billion in new revenue, either through an expanded sales tax or higher personal income tax, which wasn't politically possible. But he did point to his efforts to legalize slots casinos in the state and use the $1 billion they will produce for the state to lower property taxes -- even though nearly four out of every five school districts decided not to participate in the property tax rollback program, Act 72.

KIDS EXPO
State Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, is hosting a Kids Expo for children and families from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 17, at the Butler County Airport. The event is free, according to a press release from Orie's office.

The event is co-sponsored by Children's Hospital and Highmark insurance. Expect food, science demonstrations, balloon animals, fishing contests, and visits from cartoon characters.

Call 412-630-9466 for more details.

STATE CONTRACTS
A statewide task force convened by Auditor General Jack Wagner is calling for new legislation to help women- and minority-owned businesses bid on, and win, government contracts.

According to a press release, the task force wants the state Legislature to create an agency to help women- and minority-owned businesses secure state government contracts and monitor the state's effort in increasing women and minority participation

Under Gov. Rendell, according to the release, state contracts with women- and minority-owned business have grown from 2 percent of all contracts to 6.25 percent, said Peter Speaks, from the state's Department of General Services.

ANOTHER NEWS ITEM? NO THANKS, I'M STUFFED
Maybe you were under the impression that because you are adept at stuffing the Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing a black bear would be no big challenge.

You would be wrong. Taxidermy has evolved over the years. There are all sorts of fancy tools and fancy terms -- did you know a "cheeker" is a tool that removes the cheek flesh from the eye socket? -- and taxidermists today must keep up with the evolving science behind the art.

That's why there's been discussion in Harrisburg about how the state licenses its taxidermists, and which state agency ought to be doing it, according to our friends at capitolwire.com, an online Capitol news agency.

They reported that the House Game & Fisheries Committee is considering a bill that would remove the taxidermy trade from the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. That's because the game, by the time it reaches the taxidermist, is dead.

Discussion on that bill led to talks about whether the licensing process for taxidermists is outdated. Now, taxidermists must pay an annual $100 licensing fee, and to get their license in the first place, they must have passed a test, which some say is too old.

Paul Czarnecki, president of the Pennsylvania Taxidermist Association, says he prefers a new licensing process that requires a five-year certification course. Taxidermists earn "points" toward their certification by "subscribing to trade magazines, judging taxidermy shows, winning awards and writing articles about the craft," capitolwire.com reported.

NEVER ON SUNDAY?
The question of whether the state should permit hunting on Sundays is an issue that crops up now and then at the state Capitol, and it's up again.

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau testified at a House Game & Fisheries Committee meeting this week that it is strongly opposed to the idea. "Farmers want one day a week when they can enjoy some privacy, whether it is for religious reasons, quality family time or recreational use of their property," said Farm Bureau official Joel Rotz.

Wilmer Lehman of the Franklin County Farm Bureau said farmers should have one day a week "when we are able to use our properties without gunfire, trespassing hunters and other interruptions to our family life. Our farm is not just a piece of property. It's also our home."

Hunting on Sundays is now allowed on a very limited basis, only in certain areas and only for crows, foxes and coyotes, said the Farm Bureau's Mark O'Neill. A bill has been introduced to give the state Game Commission authority to permit Sunday hunting for many areas and animals, power it doesn't now have. The Farm Bureau says it has more than 37,000 farm and rural families across the state as members.

BILL DROPS
House Bill No. 1651 would make it a crime to alter air rifles -- basically, BB guns and other guns that fire their rounds using compressed air -- to make them look like more powerful firearms.

House Bill No. 1684 says that two license plates, instead of one, would have to be displayed on your car, one plate in front and one plate in back, starting 2007. Pennsylvania is one of few states that requires a license plate to be displayed only on the rear bumper of the car.

Finally, several senators next week intend to announce that they've introduced a package of bills to help protect Pennsylvanians from identity theft and Internet fraud. Those items are Senate bills No. 711 through 714.

These proposed bills, and all bills, require approval from both the House and Senate, as well as a signature from the governor, before they become laws.

HOUSE RESOLUTION OF THE WEEK
A two for one deal -- via House Resolution No. 338, June 2005 becomes "Million Pound Meltdown Month" in Pennsylvania, while June 8 through June 21 become "Million Pound Meltdown Awareness Weeks." The goal is for overweight and obese Pennsylvanians, especially people in the northern and northeast parts of the state, to shed pounds.

SENATE RESOLUTION OF THE WEEK
In case you don't feel lousy enough about being fat, the state Senate said June 7 was "National Hunger Awareness Day" in Pennsylvania. While you're stuffing your face with potato chips, there are starving kids in China.