HARRISBURG — Sen. Vincent Fumo, a 30-year state senator from Philadelphia, said Friday that he will not return to the Senate before his term ends this year as he prepares to fight federal corruption charges.

Fumo, 65, made the announcement on the Senate floor during an unusual holiday session in which the chamber is finishing up the state budget before it takes its traditional two-month summer break from Harrisburg.

"I will miss it terribly. I spent half my life here and I spent it here with every fiber in my body," the Democrat said. "I've loved it, I've hated it. I've had great experiences and very sad ones."

Fumo, who isn't running for re-election, faces trial in September and his term officially ends in November. He referred to the trial as a "another challenge," and said he will fight it.

Fumo entered the Senate in 1978 and quickly rose to power as a deft politician, fundraiser and advocate for the city of Philadelphia. As the longtime Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he also commanded substantial influence over what received state funding.

Gov. Ed Rendell, a fellow Philadelphia Democrat, said Fumo's departure, under the circumstances, was saddening.

Last year, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia unveiled a 139-charge indictment alleging that Fumo defrauded the state Senate, a seaport museum and a nonprofit by using their staff to do his personal and political work.

Fumo maintains his innocence. He has beaten criminal charges twice before, including once when the trial judge vacated the conviction in 1981.