Rendell to Slash and then Sign Budget Bill

A bill that will allow tens of thousands of state workers to start getting paychecks and receive back pay is headed for Governor Rendell.
The Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House voted 195-to-3 to approve a Senate Republican-backed budget bill.
Rendell plans to sign into law a small portion of it, and line-item veto the rest.
Political analyst Terry Madonna, of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, says the so-called "bridge budget" will effectively push back the date by which negotiators will finalize a budget.

"Relieving the pressure on them by paying state employees, even though I think everyone agrees state employees deserve to be paid and should be paid, will not accelerate the process at all and will, in fact, retard it."


The governor is expected to announce later today which programs will be funded under the limited budget measure. Paychecks will resume for state employees in about six days.