Pa. governor mulls skeleton budget to pay state workers

HARRISBURG (AP) — Gov. Ed Rendell said today that he will look for a way to speed money to pay for Pennsylvania’s state government operations so that tens of thousands of employees don’t miss more paydays during an entrenched budget impasse.

Rendell said he decided to pursue an interim budget that is whittled down to the essentials after informal talks over the weekend with Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, made it clear that any agreement on an approximately $28 billion budget still is far away.

“I have asked the staff to present me with options for getting the government back to work, and I hope to have a decision made on that in the middle of the week,” Rendell told reporters.

Rendell, a Democrat, would not discuss the options he is considering or how much money would be required.

Still, a budget that strictly pays for salaries and some administrative functions would leave in limbo billions of dollars for public schools, state universities, social services, hospitals, museums, libraries and more while budget negotiations continue.

It is not clear whether Rendell can find a way to disburse money for general government operations without legislative approval or whether he could even get legislative approval by Friday, when 33,000 state employees face their first payless payday.