HARRISBURG -- When Gov. Ed Rendell and state legislators return to the Capitol today, they're going to face a crowd of protestors upset over the recent legislative pay increases.

That anger increases the pressure on state officials to do something to reduce homeowners' property taxes -- a difficult task they'll take up during a special legislative session that opens Wednesday.

Since Rendell and most of the General Assembly will have to face voters next year, they're eager to make long-promised reductions in property taxes and ease taxpayers' anger over the July pay raises and the January 2004 increase in state personal income taxes.

But it's not going to be easy. The General Assembly will face at least six different tax-reduction plans that differ significantly, and the specter of 2006 gubernatorial politics will complicate debate.

Democrat Rendell, a strong advocate of legalizing slot machines in Pennsylvania, is pushing a plan to use up to $1 billion of gambling revenue to trim property taxes statewide.

He wants to require all 501 school districts take part in Act 72, a law passed last year that would use slot machine revenue to cut property taxes by an average of about $300 per year.

So far, only 20 percent of the state school boards have agreed to take part in Act 72, which upset Rendell. He wants taxpayers in every district to get lower property taxes, not just a few.

Rendell made a major campaign pledge when he ran for governor in 2002 to lower property taxes but so far hasn't been able to deliver.

"We must pass legislation to give property tax relief to homeowners in every school district,'' he said two weeks ago.

Rendell wants his bill approved by the end of the year, but that seems doubtful. Negotiations will be complicated by the 2006 elections, when Rendell will be seeking a second term.

Republicans control both the House and Senate and aren't likely to want to hand Rendell a major political victory by adopting his plan without some input of their own.

Other tax relief plans have been proposed by Republican legislators, including one by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola of suburban Harrisburg, one of three GOP candidates running against Rendell for governor in 2006.

His plan would reduce the 6 percent state sales tax to 5.7 percent but extend it to many items not currently covered, such as food, clothing and many professional services.

A group of conservative Republicans in the state House, called the Commonwealth Caucus, have a plan to reduce the sales tax even further, to 5 percent, but also impose it on items not currently covered.

Senate Democrats also have some ideas. Sen. Sean Logan of Monroeville is working with a southwestern Pennsylvania group called Stop Taxing Our Properties, which has long wanted to get rid of property taxes.

They've proposed perhaps the most far-reaching plan, one that would raise both the state's sales tax (to 8 percent) and personal income tax. Food and clothing would not be taxed under this plan, however.

The proposals to put the sales tax on groceries and clothing have led some critics to say such an idea would be regressive and unfair to lower-income people.

Other senators, both Democrats and Republicans, have more modest plans, which will leave it up to the residents of each school district whether to take part in Act 72 or whether to substitute higher income taxes for existing property taxes.

Making a serious dent in property taxes requires a boatload of money.

Rendell is forecasting up to $1 billion in slots revenue just to trim property taxes by $300 a year.

To totally eliminate property taxes, as some legislators want to do, would require as much as $8 billion in additional revenue.

The only way to get that kind of money, legislators say, is to make a significant increase in either the sales tax or the personal income tax.

Legislators want to please voters by reducing property taxes but also fear a backlash from jacking up sales or income taxes.

Many Pennsylvanians are still upset about what Rendell and the Legislature did in late 2003 -- upping the personal income tax rate from 2.8 percent to the current 3.07 percent. Many lawmakers fear stirring up voters again with a further increase.

Besides Rendell and legislators, other interested parties will weigh in on the tax debate, including the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

Executive Director Thomas Gentzel urged state officials to consider more than just tax cuts. He said the state needs to consider school districts' rising costs for salaries, gasoline, health insurance, construction and other items.

Rather than just talking about cutting property taxes that fund schools, local districts would like the state to talk about providing more revenue for public schools. That would reduce the need for school boards to raise local property taxes.

Gentzel said the special session is a chance "to initiate a discussion about comprehensive funding reform that is fair to Pennsylvania taxpayers and addresses the funding demands placed on school districts.''

A special session can run simultaneously with regular legislative work; it is a method employed largely to show that a focus is being placed on one particular issue.

The session starting Wednesday won't be the first time in recent years that a governor has tried to solve the property tax problem.

In 2002 then-Gov. Mark Schweiker called a special session, where dozens of bills were offered to cut property taxes but nothing passed.