Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell says he’s standing firm on state budget

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell says as painful as it is for state workers to lose out on their pay temporarily, it’s better than having thousands of state workers lose their jobs.

The Democratic governor said Wednesday night that if the budget plan favored by Senate Republicans had passed, about 2,000 to 2,500 state employees would be permanently laid off.

Rendell says he’s sympathetic to state workers who aren’t getting paid, but he notes that they will get paid retroactively once the state budget stalemate is over. He says about 60 percent of state workers are getting interest-free loans from banks and credit unions to tide them over.

State lawmakers have been meeting behind the scenes to work out a deal. A conference committee of high-ranking leaders is expected to be appointed Monday.