Before addressing the issue of the Pennsylvania state budget, Gov. Ed Rendell speaks Thursday during a news conference at the Capitol in Harrisburg about a summer program that will employee young people across the state.

HARRISBURG — Gov. Ed Rendell and the Senate Republican leader Thursday offered sharply conflicting opinions about how close state budget negotiators are to striking a deal to end an impasse now in its fourth week — the last week state employees will be paid until a budget is in place.

The Democratic governor said ongoing talks among key legislators and his own emissaries are expected to continue through the weekend. That could yield a compromise in time for prompt consideration by a House-Senate conference committee that leaders are expected to appoint Monday to try to reach a compromise, he said.

"I'm hopeful ... that these meetings will carry on through Monday and that, by the time the conference committee meets, there will be an agreement" that the panel can approve for floor action, the Democratic governor told reporters at a news conference on an unrelated topic.

However, he acknowledged, "It may not happen."

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said he is convinced Rendell's proposed tax increases lack majority support in the Democratic-controlled House, even though no votes have been taken. He reiterated the Senate GOP's demand spending be held to substantially less than the $28.1 billion that was spent in the 2008-09 fiscal year that ended June 30.

"I don't see any rational reason for optimism" about the prospect of a speedy agreement, the Delaware County Republican said.

Last week, the Democratic-controlled House passed a $29.1 billion spending plan that would require tax increases. Rendell has proposed various taxes — including a 16 percent boost in the personal income tax, a new tax on the extraction of natural gas and an increase in sales taxes on tobacco — to support a similar spending figure.

On Monday, the Republican-controlled Senate approved a $27.1 billion proposal that would cut programs and tap reserve funds, but not increase taxes.

The expected conference committee would be created in an attempt to resolve the differences between those proposals.

Since the new fiscal year began July 1, the state government has operated without a budget — meaning it has no authority to pay most of its bills. Tens of thousands of state workers are being required to work without timely paychecks, although they would receive all their back pay once a budget is in place.

The Senate GOP wants to limit spending in the 2009-10 budget to $27.3 billion and to block any broad-based tax increases, Pileggi said.

"I think we're still very far apart," he said.

The governor said he expects to personally participate in the weekend negotiations "at some time."

Rendell chuckled when a reporter noted the midpoint between the two budgets is about $28 billion and asked why negotiators do not set that amount as their target.

"It's not all as easy as that," Rendell said, noting the four legislative caucuses differ on many details and stressing much horse-trading lies ahead.

"Can we get to a figure? Yeah, we can get to a figure," he said. "Are we going to split the difference? No."