HARRISBURG -- Because of the state's ongoing budget problems, Gov. Ed Rendell plans to lay off 255 more state workers as of Aug. 28.

With previous layoffs made earlier in the year and a hiring freeze that started in October, the state soon will have 1,091 fewer workers than it did last fall, administration officials said yesterday.

The new batch of layoffs comes from numerous state agencies, including agriculture, community and economic development, education, executive agencies, the health department, the insurance department, the revenue department, the history and museum commission and the human relations commission.

Twenty-one of 255 workers losing their jobs live in Allegheny County, three live in Beaver, one in Butler, two in Washington and four in Westmoreland. The highest number of laid off workers live in Dauphin and Cumberland counties, which are closest to the state capital.

Earlier this year, there were 218 layoffs from three specific entities -- 125 from the Scotland School for Veterans' Children in Franklin County and 83 from the Scranton School for the Deaf, both of which Mr. Rendell is closing, and 10 from the Pennsylvania Public TV network.

Some services at the Scranton school will be taken over by the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Edgewood, which may keep some of the Scranton workers.

Overall, the state has about 77,000 employees.

Mr. Rendell and Senate Republicans are still locked in a budget impasse that shows no signs of letting up. Mr. Rendell is proposing a budget of $28.2 billion for fiscal 2009-10, which began July 1, while Republicans want a spending package of about $27.3 billion.

Mr. Rendell claims that as many as 6,000 state workers would have to be laid off if the no-tax-increase Republican budget is enacted. He wants legislators to approve an increase in some major recurring form of revenue -- either the sales tax or income tax -- as well as smaller increases in tobacco and natural gas taxes to avoid laying off thousands of workers. But the GOP says the current recession, with many people in the private sector out of work, isn't the time to increase the tax burden on citizens.

Mr. Rendell last week signed $11 billion of a $27.3 billion budget proposed by Senate Republicans and approved by the House and Senate. But he vetoed another $13 billion in spending contained in that budget, which led to the layoffs announced yesterday.

In addition to the $24 billion in state funds contained in that Senate Bill 850 budget, there's also $2.7 billion in federal stimulus funds and some one-time revenues, either from the state's Rainy Day Fund or a fund that helps pay doctors' malpractice premiums.

Even though Mr. Rendell signed the budget, he openly criticized it for not providing enough money for basic and higher education, health care, child care, senior citizens' programs, autism programs and other services.

He said he was signing it so that most of the state's 77,000 remaining workers could be paid. They hadn't been paid for the work they had performed since the current fiscal year began July 1. They finally got their overdue checks Friday and yesterday.

Mr. Rendell also is urging a six-member, House-Senate budget conference committee to get back to budget talks, which may happen this week.

Also yesterday, Senate Democrats criticized Republicans, who control the chamber, for not bringing up House Bill 1828, which would permit Philadelphia to increase its sales tax to 8 percent (compared to 7 percent in Allegheny County and 6 percent in all other counties). The House has already approved the bill.

Philadelphia officials maintain that up to 3,000 city workers, including 900 police officers, would have to be laid off if the city doesn't soon get the right to increase the tax.

Some Republicans think the Philadelphia sales-tax increase should be part of the overall state budget discussion, which could delay action on it for weeks. Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, called that attitude "unconscionable" and said Philadelphia should be given the authority to solve its own fiscal problems.