State House approves $27.66 billion budget

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-house-budget-vote-20120628,0,4435747.story FROM THE MORNING CALL HARRISBURG— — A $27.66 billion, no-tax increase state budget that provides state colleges, libraries and public schools with the same amount of money they received this year but ends a cash assistance program for the neediest Pennsylvanians is on its way to the state Senate. With just two days to go before the Saturday deadline to approve a spending plan for the fiscal year that starts Sunday, the House voted 120-81 on Thursday evening to approve the budget, which represents an increase of $370 million over current spending and $500 million more than Gov. Tom Corbett sought when he presented his first spending proposal to lawmakers in February. A vote by the Senate is expected as soon as Friday. The House action came after several hours of pointed debate and amid last-minute work by legislative staffers, lawmakers and administration officials to reach agreement on a host of issues that have been pulled into the budget's orbit, including school reform and a $1.65 billion, 25-year tax credit for Royal Dutch Shell PLC. While lawmakers debated, state Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser and his staff hovered outside the doors to the House chamber, hoping to buttonhole skeptical lawmakers and persuade them to support a tax credit the administration has described as "essential" this budget season.