Under House rules approved as part of the new move toward openness and accountability in the legislature, a 24-hour waiting period is required for consideration of amended bills. The Senate can work more quickly but under less scrutiny with only a six-hour rule.
As a result, Gov. Rendell may not have a budget to sign until at least Monday and perhaps as late as a week from then.
Under the deal, Senate Republicans got no new taxes and a lower rate of spending, while Gov. Rendell got most of his top programs funded, and legislative promises to consider several controversial energy and health bills in a special session this fall.
All parties say they are confident the agreement on the $27.4 billion spending plan will hold even if it takes another few days, or even a week, to reach the governor's desk.
"No one can afford not to have the deal go through," said Evans, who as chairman of the House Majority Appropriations Committee is guiding the budget negotiations expected to continue through the weekend.
Rendell administration officials said yesterday they had a solution to one budget stumbling block involving environmental program funding. Under the plan, Rendell would use $40 million a year from a state land-preservation fund to support a hazardous-waste cleanup program. But critics said Rendell's proposal is no better than the current Senate Republican proposal to divert millions from a fund that supports parks and libraries to cover hazardous-waste removal.
Throughout the week, bipartisan working groups have been tackling various elements of the budget, from multi-billion-dollar education-funding bills to grants for local community projects totaling as little as a few thousand dollars.
