HARRISBURG -- With a section of a Pittsburgh bridge dropping 8 inches and an Interstate 95 support pillar cracking in Philadelphia, Gov. Ed Rendell is turning up the heat under the Legislature to provide infrastructure repair funds more quickly.

Mr. Rendell sent a letter to all 253 legislators yesterday urging quick passage of a $240 million "supplemental debt authorization."

His program of borrowing would enable state officials to fast-track repairs on some of the state's 6,000 bridges classified as structurally deficient, along with fixing ailing highways, repairing "state-owned, high-hazard dams" and beginning flood mitigation projects.

Also yesterday, Mr. Rendell called on legislators to expedite action on an economic stimulus plan he proposed in his budget speech in February.

He did admit, though, that he's dropping one of the more popular aspects of that program -- a one-time tax rebate of either $200 or $400 for lower-income families.

In February, he had proposed a rebate along the lines of the one already approved by Congress and President Bush. In May, the feds plan to begin sending out $600 checks to single taxpayers and $1,200 checks for couples filing jointly.

Mr. Rendell had suggested one-time rebates of $400 for two-parent families or $200 for single-parent families, subject to income limits. But he said yesterday the idea hasn't generated much support in the Legislature, and the time doesn't seem right for such state-issued "stimulus checks." He may take another look at it next year.

Mr. Rendell said the rest of his stimulus program is needed because the national economic slowdown is finally catching up with Pennsylvania. He said the state hit an all-time high in January with 5.8 million jobs, but that is now declining. He said the state's jobless rate had been lower than the federal rate, but now is slightly higher.

He urged action on:

• Creating an $850 million "energy independence" program aimed at increasing the production of corn- and cellulose-based biofuels to lessen the state's dependence on foreign oil;

• Enacting a $500 million Jonus Salk Legacy Fund, which would shift the use of some of the money the state gets each year from tobacco companies to build new medical research facilities;

• Extending tax credits to companies that create new jobs;

• Providing another $100 million for turning old industrial brownfields into usable sites; and

• Increasing state investments in what Mr. Rendell called "our outdated aviation and rail freight facilities."

But Mr. Rendell is likely to face staunch opposition from many legislative Republicans, who frequently complain that he borrows and spends too much money. They don't like his energy plan because it would be funded by a small surcharge on monthly electric bills. They said the flood mitigation efforts could cost as much as $91 million and the repair of dams as much as $37 million.

Some GOP legislators have posters on their doors with pictures of young children and words reading "Let's Really Care About the Kids -- No More Borrowing." Most bond issues are paid off over 20 or 30 years with the children of today left to pay off the borrowed money.

Mr. Rendell countered that "there's no better time (than now) to borrow money. Interest rates are low."

The $240 million in new debt for bridges and roads "will enable us to quicken the pace of repairing critical components of our state infrastructure," the governor said.

Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Republican leader Sam Smith, said that because of the previous Rendell bond issues, "The state's debt service costs, which must be paid before anything else in the state budget is paid, is about $1 billion a year. That's $1 billion taken right off the top, money which can't be spent for priorities such as education or health care."

Republicans are still unhappy about Mr. Rendell's decision in 2005 to redirect $424 million in federal highway funds away from urgent repairs of roads and instead use it to bail out deficit-ridden mass transit agencies in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He countered that the state couldn't afford to have buses, trolleys and trains in those two cities stop running, because people couldn't get to their jobs.

Before acting on Mr. Rendell's proposed bond issue, some legislators want to wait until talks begin in earnest on the fiscal 2008-09 state budget, which usually happens in mid-June. The new fiscal year starts July 1.

Mr. Rendell didn't set a deadline on when the new bond issue should be approved but said it should be well before budget talks.