Stopgap budget would let state pay its workers
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HARRISBURG -- Unless a major breakthrough happens in state budget talks, Gov. Ed Rendell may try to impose a limited, stopgap spending plan as early as tomorrow.
Mr. Rendell yesterday said he's directed his cabinet members to figure out a plan that would work.
One advantage of a stopgap budget is that it would let the state's 77,000 employees receive their full pay -- rather than the partial paychecks they've been getting for the past two weeks. It also ensures that state services aren't shut down.
But it also takes off some of the pressure on Mr. Rendell and state legislators to complete their work of enacting a new budget, thus dragging out the process.
Asked for details on how a stopgap budget would work, Mr. Rendell said, "As they say in the electronic media, stay tuned."
Mr. Rendell said it hasn't been determined yet whether the Legislature would have to approve a stopgap budget.
"It may. That's what I've asked my staff to look at, a whole host of different potential [aspects]," he said.
The state hasn't had to use a stopgap budget since 1977. One way it could work, officials said, is to divide the previous fiscal year's budget (of about $28 billion) by 12 and then appropriate one or two months of revenue, so employees and vendors can be paid on a short-term basis. That would permit a little breathing room -- at least until the one-month or two-month interim period has ended.
Mr. Rendell said that over the weekend, he reduced his proposed 2009-10 spending plan by nearly another $300 million, so its bottom line is about $28 billion, compared to his original budget of $29 billion proposed in February.
Senate Republicans are holding out for a $27.1 billion plan, with no recurring tax increases. House Democrats have proposed a $29.1 billion budget, and no one seems willing to compromise at this point.
Mr. Rendell said a conference committee of three House leaders and three Senate leaders should still be appointed to try to work out a budget, even if he goes ahead with a stopgap spending plan.
First Published July 28, 2009 12:00 am
