HARRISBURG -- Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell narrowly dodged a budget bullet from House Republicans yesterday.

In a sharp departure from past practice, House lawmakers reduced their usually tedious and time-consuming budget debate to a simple choice: either Mr. Rendell's $27.3 billion proposal, with its spending increase of 6 percent, or Republican Rep. Mario Civera's proposed 2 percent increase in state spending.

The governor won, but just barely, as lawmakers rejected Mr. Civera's $26.8 million proposal by a margin of 96-102. There were 101 Democrats, joined by just one Republican, House Speaker Dennis O'Brien of Philadelphia, voting against the Civera budget, with 96 Republicans for it. There were five members absent.

Now Mr. Rendell's $27.3 billion budget is the only option still on the table. The House is expected to vote on it today and send it to the Senate, where deliberations on the 2007-08 spending proposal will continue. The goal is to get a final budget adopted and signed by Mr. Rendell by June 30.

In a surprise move, House lawmakers from both parties agreed yesterday to withdraw 245 of the 246 amendments that they had submitted last week. Instead, they offered only the most sweeping amendment, the one by Mr. Civera, R-Delaware, which would have cut most of the governor's proposals for new programs, restored funding to lawmakers' pet projects and limited spending to the rate of inflation.

"I do think there's some value to members airing out their projects," said House GOP Leader Sam Smith, R-Punxsutawney, "but our members felt we could make the most striking [case] by putting the Civera amendment straight up against the governor's budget."

They lost.

So, Mr. Rendell won the battle yesterday, but he still hasn't won the overall budget war.

His spending proposal still faces questions from the Republican-controlled Senate, as well as certain changes, including the addition of lawmakers' pet projects. These are programs for things like clean water, park improvements, armory maintenance, epilepsy support services and more -- things the governor did not fund in his spending plan.

Whether those items should be included will be hashed out either when the Senate takes up the budget starting June 4, or in a conference committee in mid-June, when legislative leaders will hash out the final budget behind closed doors.

Legislators know that funding for pet projects will be restored later, said Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. That's why they plan to support Mr. Rendell's version of the budget when it comes to a vote today, he said.

Republicans, though, say it's disingenuous to pass a budget that omits spending for important projects that members want to see funded.

Even Mr. Rendell has agreed that some of those projects are important, but he considers them legislative prerogatives. So he, as governors have historically done, leaves it to the House and Senate to restore a certain amount of funding during the budget debate.

Those programs would add an estimated $500 million to the $27.3 billion budget proposal and would require a certain tax hike, Mr. Smith said. He said Mr. Civera's alternative to the Rendell budget was responsible, comprehensive and honest because it included funding for most of those programs.

"We're going to be able to go home and say we supported funding a lot of those things. [Democrats are] going to have to go home and say, 'Well, we'll try to get that in later.' "

Now both caucuses will rely on their Senate counterparts -- and, eventually, the conference committee -- to fight for their budget priorities.

Republicans, who lost their majority in last November's election, are getting used to that.

"Once we wound up in the minority, we've had to work with the Senate for them to carry our issues," Mr. Smith said.

Republicans in both caucuses are adamant about controlling spending.

Senate Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, made that clear Monday at a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon, where he was the guest speaker.

The governor's plans are too ambitious and expensive, he said.

"The priority in the state Senate, the Republican state Senate, is to deliver a budget by June 30 with no tax increase and within the rate of inflation," he said.

Mr. Rendell's spending plan would provide for an expansion of pre-school programs, universal health care, biomedical-research facilities, alternative energy programs and more.

"If you're going to vote for [the governor's budget], you're voting to increase spending by 6 or 7 percent, and that is a vote for a tax increase," Mr. Smith told members on the floor.

His caucus wants to limit spending to the rate of inflation and use resources to bolster existing programs, not add new ones.

"Before we can move forward with new things, we have to make sure we are successfully tackling our current responsibilities," Mr. Civera said. "The Rendell budget is more than Pennsylvanians can afford and certainly more than they should be asked to pay."

Mr. Evans said that one good thing about the Rendell budget is that it can be paid for without a tax increase, such as Mr. Rendell's call in early February for an increase in the state sales tax to 7 percent. Mr. Evans said current taxes are outperforming expectations, and the state now expects a surplus from the 2006-07 budget of $500 million. Some money could also be tapped from the nearly $600 million "rainy day fund" used for emergencies.