PENNSYLVANIA State reports surplus, but no budget yet

Even without a budget, state employees and welfare recipients will be paid.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue reported Wednesday that the state had a surplus of $636.9 million just hours before it begins the new fiscal year without an approved budget.
All told, the state collected $22.8 billion, $636.9 million or 2.9 percent above estimates, during the 2003-2004 fiscal year. In December, lawmakers approved $1.2 billion in increased or new taxes on income, cigarettes and telephone usage for the state's main bank account, the general fund.
Sales taxes totaled $7.7 billion, or $28 million above estimates. Income taxes totaled $7.7 billion, which was $117.8 million or 1.5 percent above estimates, and corporate taxes totaled $4.4 billion, which was $252.4 million or 6.2 percent above estimates.
Today, the state's power to spend revenue largely ends until the state Legislature and Gov. Ed Rendell agree on a budget bill that authorizes it.
What will be paid
With or without a budget, some items will continue to be funded under federal labor laws, constitutional provisions and state court orders, according to state officials.
Continuing disbursements include welfare payments to families with dependent children, payments on state debt, and payroll checks for unionized state workers and some senior administration officials, officials said.
Both Rendell administration officials and lawmakers expect to agree on a budget before the end of the week, and say that there will be little or no impact from the budget delay.
"It is true that we will miss the deadline, but nobody will miss a payment, nobody will miss a check, state parks will stay open," said Erik Arneson, the chief of staff for the Senate Republican leader, David J. Brightbill of Lebanon County.