Pa. State Senate Approves New State Budget
by KYW's Tony Romeo
The Pennsylvania Senate this afternoon passed a new state budget. It'll now be up to the House to act if there's to be a budget on the governor's desk by the end of the fiscal year tonight.
Moments before the state senate approved the spending plan, Senate majority leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Chester) said the austere budget reflects a tough economy that produced a $1.2-billion shortfall in the fiscal year that is coming to an end:
"This spending plan, which totals 28 billion, 43 million dollars, includes many difficult cuts. Together with the governor and the House of Representatives, we have made tough but necessary decisions to produce a balanced budget."
There are no broad-based tax increases in the budget. Instead, Governor Rendell says there will be cuts to various departments and programs. He gives the pending 7.3-percent cut for state parks, the 6.9-percent cut for state health centers, and the 9.1 percent cut for libraries as a few examples.
