HARRISBURG -- Four days into the new fiscal year, the state Legislature this afternoon approved a $28.2 billion state budget.

The budget is about $100 million more than the budget proposal Gov. Ed Rendell outlined in February and $1.1 billion, or 4 percent, more than the budget for last fiscal year.

The Senate vote was 49-1 and the House vote was 170-32. The governor had indicated earlier that he would sign the budget.

Legislative approval comes after three days of behind-the-scenes work, the House and Senate are expected to approve the fiscal 2008-09 state budget late this afternoon.

The spending package was approved in a brief meeting of a six-member, House-Senate conference committee this morning.

Mr. DeWeese said the budget "is no surprise" to legislators, since it contains what was included in the "handshake" budget deal reached early Monday morning.

The new state fiscal year actually began on Tuesday, but no spending has been possible because the new budget hasn't been passed. Mr. Rendell had warned that 25,000 "non-essential" state workers might have to be furloughed without pay until the budget was adopted, but that didn't happen.

Legislators reduced 2008-09 spending by $600 million compared to what Mr. Rendell had proposed, because the national recession is reducing revenue from state tax sources. But legislators also added back it about $500 million, with about $70 million going to each of the four legislative caucuses for their salary and operational expenses for this year, as well as for legislative grants for projects around the state, such as stadiums, conference centers, recreational facilities and other projects.

Post-Gazette Harrisburg bureau chief Tom Barnes contributed.