Bill signed to restore pay for Pa. state workers

HARRISBURG (AP) — Tens of thousands of state workers should get the back pay they’ve earned during the five-week budget impasse by Monday now that Gov. Ed Rendell’s signed a partial state budget.

The Democratic governor today approved about $11 billion in state spending, well under half that was included in an austerity spending plan that passed the state House a day earlier.

Rendell says he preserved programs vital to public health and safety. That includes nearly $6 billion for the Department of Public Welfare but very little for education programs.

The state is now more than five weeks into the new fiscal year without a deal on a 2009-10 spending plan.