There was little doubt in anyone's mind that the House-approved budget bill is a far cry from the final version.
"This is a responsible first step. This is not the last step. I know we've got a lot of work," said Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Phila.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "All my members on this side are not particularly overly excited about everything that is in this document. All my members are not particularly excited by the governor."
The bill passed 102-97 along party lines with one exception - House Speaker Dennis O'Brien (R., Phila.) - who owes his position to a compromise with Democrats in January.
Both sides agreed that five tough weeks of negotiations loom with the Republican-controlled Senate committed to holding spending to no more than the rate of inflation, which is roughly at 2.5 percent.
The traditional state budget deadline is June 30, the end of the fiscal year. No budget has been approved on time since Rendell took office in 2003.
Republicans vehemently opposed the bill for leaving out roughly $800 million in funding for a slew of favored projects including crop insurance, violence prevention and health care initiatives.
They also argued that some type of tax increase was inevitable when much of the funding was restored during talks with the Senate.
"If you think you can pass that spending plan and constitutionally balance the budget without a tax increase, think again," House Minority Leader Sam Smith (R., Jefferson) said during the more than two-hour floor debate. "Those numbers just don't add up."
Evans said repeatedly during debate that the budget was tax-free. He said any shortfalls would be covered by a projected $500 million surplus.
But even Rendell hinted yesterday that a tax increase was not off the table.
Rendell called the House action "a good starting point, but by no means are we out of the woods."
