Today is the deadline for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to pass its 2010-2011 state budget. Yesterday, Governor Ed Rendell held a press conference to announce that he and legislative leadership from all four caucuses have agreed to the terms of a $28.052 billion budget. The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to report the spending plan out of committee this morning and it will likely be considered by the full Senate later in the day. The budget contains a $250 million increase for basic education and looks to an October time frame for a severance tax on Marcellus Shale gas drilling operation. The House could vote late tonight or tomorrow to approve the budget and it could arrive on the governor’s desk for signature one day into the new fiscal year — the earliest in his eight years as Governor that a budget was completed.
PCC staff will be reviewing the line items in this spending agreement. More details to come.
