HARRISBURG -- State lawmakers won't consider Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private operator until fall.

Mr. Rendell wanted the Legislature to act on the idea by late June.

Due to a heavy legislative calendar this month, including adopting a state budget for 2008-09, extending health insurance to 300,000 people without it, enacting new ways to generate energy, borrowing $750 million for capital projects and other pressing matters, state legislators won't get to the turnpike lease deal.

"There isn't enough time in the next 28 days to have the General Assembly review the turnpike lease," Mr. Rendell told reporters yesterday.

He has proposed leasing the turnpike for 75 years to a group led by Citigroup of New York City and Abertis Infraestructuras of Spain. They would pay the state a one-time, upfront fee of $12.8 billion, which the state would invest in hopes of getting up to $1.1 billion a year for repairing roads and bridges.

The lease offer, in its present terms, is only good until June 20, said Citigroup's Michael Froman, and Mr. Rendell had hoped the Legislature would vote by then or soon afterward.

But because the deal is so complex, and so many legislators, including Mr. Rendell's fellow Democrats, have expressed concern or outright opposition, the General Assembly needs more time to explore it.

Mr. Rendell didn't think the terms of the deal would greatly change by fall, although uncertainty in capital and finance markets could force some changes.

"I am confident the [general outline of the] lease offer will hold up until September," he said.

Once the budget is adopted, probably in late June or by mid-July, legislators will go home until they reconvene here in late September. Mr. Rendell noted that because this is an election year, there won't be much time in September and October to act on the turnpike lease. Legislators spend much time in October of election years campaigning in their home districts.

Roy Kienitz, one of Mr. Rendell's key aides on the turnpike lease, said he wasn't overly concerned about the delay.

"Citigroup would like to have the deal approved by June 20. I would like to be five years younger," Mr. Kienitz quipped. "Like everything else in Harrisburg, it takes a while to do complicated things.''

He did note that the Citi/Abertis offer to pay $12.8 billion for a 75-year lease "won't last forever."

As for the new budget, Mr. Rendell said talks between the administration and legislative leaders will now go into high gear. He said he'll be available for budget negotiations "24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Many legislators remain doubtful the deadline can be met because so many major issues remain unsettled. The House will be first to vote on the budget, but leaders there can't say when.

Mr. Rendell met yesterday with Republican and Democratic leaders to try to reach a compromise. Many Republicans want to hold the rise in state spending for 2008-09 to 3 percent, but Mr. Rendell said state agencies are affected by inflation and higher prices for gasoline and food just like everyone else, and doubted such a small increase is possible.