Pa. to begin 7th straight year without a budget

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state government is poised to begin a seventh straight fiscal year without a spending plan in place, with no agreement in sight this year.

Gov. Ed Rendell will meet tonight with top legislators on the state’s budget stalemate, less than 36 hours from the start of the new fiscal year.

The Democratic governor and Republican legislators are about $2 billion apart on proposals to balance the state’s recession-wracked budget.

Rendell says he’s prepared to go as long as it takes to get an acceptable agreement.

He says residents will notice little change in state services beginning Wednesday, when many segments of state government lose the ability to pay bills.

Legislators are expected to miss their monthly paychecks, which normally go out on the first of each month.