HARRISBURG -- The 101-day budget impasse ended tonight when the Senate voted 35-14 to move a fiscal code bill to Gov. Ed Rendell's desk.

The governor wasted little time and quickly signed the budget tonight.

Companion appropriations and revenue bills had been passed by both chambers earlier today and Thursday.

The plan cuts overall spending by 1 percent while it adds $300 million for public schools.

Passage of the lawmakers' work on the budget isn't finished.

They have yet to agree on the details of a plan to bring poker, blackjack and other table games to Pennsylvania casinos. That would generate $200 million needed to help provide state funding to Pitt, Penn State, Lincoln and Temple universities as well has several museums including Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

Budgeting was particularly difficult this year because a weakened economy caused a decline in revenue and an increase in the need for social services such as welfare.

To balance the spending plan, lawmakers relied on $2.6 billion in federal stimulus money and $909 million from a blend of new taxes including an 25-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax, a first-ever tax on little cigars and a delay of a planned phase-out of a tax on business assets.

They also tapped $1.4 billion in one-time revenue sources, depleting the state's $755 million emergency fund, tranferring money from the tobacco-settlement fund and tapping an account that subsidizes physicians' payments for medical malpractice insurance. Those transfers total $2.1 billion.

Earlier today, the Senate approved a $27.8 billion spending plan already passed by the House.

Once the table games legislation is in place, the governor can release the non-preferred funding.

Both sides say they expect the gaming bill to pass. The question is how much revenue it would raise.

Under the House plan, the 12 largest casinos would pay 34 percent in taxes on table game revenue plus a one-time $20 million license fee. The Republican-controlled Senate prefers a 14 percent tax and $15 million fee.

Lawmakers expect to work next week to find middle ground.

The appropriations bill cuts overall state spending by about 1 percent while adding $300 million in funding for public schools.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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