Verbal Agreement Said To Be Reached On Budget.

Legislative Leaders And Gov. Ed ...
...have apparently reached a verbal agreement on a $28.05 billion for the fiscal year that starts Thursday. Leaders are expected to begin sharing the details of that plan with rank-and-file members as soon as this afternoon.
House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, confirmed the existence of the agreement this morning and said Democratic bean-counters were "finalizing the information."

"We're going to provide a framework to members. But as we've said so many times before, this is no final agreement until all our members sign off on it."

There's early indication that Eachus could have a fight on his hands. Southeastern Democrats are said to be upset with reductions in some line-items. Though Eachus cautioned against dissent before seeing the final budget numbers.

The Hazleton Democrat said he was optimistic that a general fund bill could be approved before the fiscal year ends at midnight on Wednesday. What happens from here largely depends on action taken in the Senate and in caucus rooms. House Republicans are sticking by their demand for a $27.5 billion budget for now.

We described the Senate timeline in an earlier post, but for those of you tuning in late, here's a brief recap: The general fund bill is now before the Senate Appropriations Committee. It would have to be reported to the floor, and then amended on the Senate floor, voted on, and sent to the House by Wednesday.

Assuming that all happens, the House would have to suspend its internal rules to allow for a final vote on Wednesday before the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, disputed Eachus' version of events, saying a final agreement is not yet in place.

However, "we are in the process of putting everything on paper in legislative form so that there are no misunderstandings, Arneson said.

"Unfortunately, recent history shows that this part of the process never goes as smoothly as it should," he continued. "We are hopeful that the outstanding issues can be resolved promptly and a spending plan can be sent to the governor tomorrow."

The budget framework now under discussion is premised on the arrival of $850 million in federal assistance in Washington. And placeholder language will be inserted in what's known as the "fiscal code" to deal with that money when it comes.

With Washington dragging its feet, it's unlikely that money will come on-time or in the expected amount.

The budget agreement also includes the eventual approval, before Oct. 1, of a new extraction tax on Marcellus shale natural gas drillers. As we reported earlier this morning, new taxes on cigars and smokeless tobacco are out. Ditto for the dime-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes.

In lieu of taxes, the budget framework relies on a number of one-time transfers and other feats of accounting legerdemain. We're still tracking down details on the specifics.


If it happens, the budget plan includes a $250 million increase in the basic education subsidy for kindergarten through twelfth-grade.

More on this as it comes.

From The Morning Call