PENNSYLVANIA State waits for Rendell to move on plan

Proposals on slot machines, taxes and school subsidies are on hold.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- It's been nearly three months since Gov. Ed Rendell presented lawmakers with his $3 billion Plan for a New Pennsylvania. As of Monday, just two weeks will remain in the fiscal year, and nothing that would seriously shake up Old Pennsylvania has even reached the House or Senate floor.
A proposal to legalize slot machines at racetracks -- worth hundreds of millions of new state dollars -- is bogged down in secret Senate talks. Plans to slash local property taxes, boost public-school subsidies and expand economic development are on hold -- as are proposals to increase the income tax and an array of smaller levies on items ranging from cellular telephone service to beer.
Two weeks ago, with House committees poised to vote on an array of bills tied to his plan, the Democratic governor asked GOP leaders to defer action until they can personally meet to bargain over the details. The delay was granted but, as last week ended, no such top-level meeting had occurred.
Busy schedule
Outside the legislative arena, Rendell has been keeping busy. Last week's schedule alone included a Philadelphia news conference to announce his proposal for solving the medical-malpractice insurance crisis, a Washington meeting with US Airways officials to offer incentives to keep the airline in Pittsburgh, and more in a chain of Harrisburg events spotlighting interest groups that support his plan.
Rendell shrugged off the looming deadline -- July 1 marks not only the dawn of the new fiscal year but the traditional kickoff of legislators' summer vacation -- as insignificant compared to the "serious and immediate problems" that he says his plan would help solve.
The state budget Republicans shoved through -- and Rendell signed -- in March preserves most state services through next year. But to preserve his leverage in negotiating his educational initiatives, Rendell vetoed $4 billion for public-school subsidies. That left a hole of intense concern to hundreds of school boards trying to set their own budgets.
"If there's no education funding by June 30, it's because he obstructed it," said Steve Miskin, spokesman for the House Republican caucus.