House sends Rendell bill aimed at paying state workers
HARRISBURG — A bill intended to pay Pennsylvania's state government workers is on its way to the governor's desk.
The state House today voted 195-to-3 to approve a budget bill Rendell plans to pare down by using his line-item veto authority.
Tens of thousands of workers are expected to collect the back pay that has built up since the start of July in about six days.
Legislative negotiators and the governor continue to haggle over a 2009-10 spending plan.
Rendell's office said he plans to announce Wednesday which programs will survive his veto pen.
The budget is being held up by an ideological dispute over the benefit of balancing the budget by raising or expanding taxes versus cutting existing programs.
