HARRISBURG -- After 30 years of failed efforts to lower Pennsylvanians' property taxes, the state House last night approved a modest, much-criticized plan that does provide some relief, though mainly for low-income senior citizens.

Many legislators, even those who voted for the compromise plan, called House Bill 39, said it didn't go nearly far enough in giving tax relief to middle-class families and homeowners struggling under the weight of rising property taxes.

The vote was 137-61 and came after several hours of emotional debate.

The bill now goes to Gov. Ed Rendell, who is expected to sign it in a few days.

"Low-income senior citizens need the relief the most. They have seen their standard of living erode by high property taxes and are in danger of losing their homes," said Rep. Lynn Herman, R-Centre, chairman of a House-Senate conference committee that drafted the tax relief bill six weeks ago.

Senators approved the plan in early May, but then the House threw them a curve by refusing to vote on it May 3.

House Republicans had said they wanted to generate additional money for wider-ranging tax relief, but GOP legislators admitted last night they were unable to do so.

Mr. Rendell has been a strong backer of the property tax reduction bill and had urged the House to approve it. Lowering property taxes had been a key plank in his platform when he ran for election in 2002 and he was frustrated by the Legislature's inability to compromise on a plan.

But he was all smiles last night after the House vote. He called it "the largest property tax cut in Pennsylvania," funded by up to $1 billion in new revenue, once the money expected from the new slot machine casinos starts rolling in by 2008 or 2009.

He said people 65 and older "will get the most significant property tax relief. We have focused on the needs of senior citizens, which will help stem the flow of our older citizens leaving their homes because property taxes are too high."

But Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, attacked the tax-cut plan as "an illusion, nothing more than an election year sleight of hand to divert our attention. State government has squandered a golden opportunity" to provide meaningful relief.

He said the promise of property tax reductions in House Bill 39 was nothing more than "monumental hype being put forth by pro-gambling expansion lawmakers."

Initially, $200 million will be borrowed from a surplus in the state lottery to expand the current property tax and rent rebate program for senior citizens.

The lottery will be repaid its $200 million by 2009 using the new slots revenue.

After $100 million of that slots revenue is used for several special tax relief funds, including giving additional aid for low-income seniors in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Scranton, about $700 million will be available to give middle-class homeowners a limited amount of property tax relief, about $150 to $200 a year.

Rep. Samuel Rohrer, R-Berks, said middle-class homeowners will be disappointed when they see how little they are getting. He called the plan "a cruel hoax and a false hope foisted on the people of Pennsylvania."

Several legislators, including Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong, and John Maher, R-Upper St. Clair, said more money should be raised to give more people substantial tax relief. They tried to raise the 6 percent state sales tax by 1 percent, to generate more than $1 billion, but that move just fell short, on a 102-96 vote.

A move to increase the sales tax by 0.5 percent also failed.

There are two other key parts of the bill. One will give school districts the power, through a voter referendum, to do a tax swap -- increasing the earned income tax in order to generate additional money for cutting property taxes.

The other is called a back-end referendum, in which voters will get to vote on any school budget that exceeds a rate of inflation of about 4 percent.

There are, however, 10 loopholes in the referendum measure which critics said will make it harder to actually have a vote on a school budget. These are exceptions to school board spending which will not count in figuring out the percentage of budget increase. They include costs of construction projects, pensions and other emergencies.

The heart of House Bill 39 concerns the $200 million from the lottery. It will nearly double, to 722,000, the number of low-income seniors eligible for property tax or rent rebates.

Now, only about 400,000 seniors age 65 and older, making $15,000 or less a year, can get the rebates.

Under the expansion, more elderly will be eligible as income limits rise to $35,000 a year.

The amount of the rebates will increase; currently they are capped at $500 a year, and will rise to $650 in most cases but to $975 for seniors whose tax payments exceed 15 percent of their income.

One reason the move to increase the sales tax failed was because many senators had already indicated they wouldn't go along with a higher tax.