Associated Press

HARRISBURG - When legislators return to the Capitol today, they will face a jam-packed agenda that includes Gov. Ed Rendell's proposals to help people without health insurance and develop alternative fuels.

With a new fiscal year less than two months away, the Legislature also must negotiate and pass a budget that is expected to be about $28 billion. The fiscal year begins July 1, and legislators start itching to take their traditional two-month break from Harrisburg.

But so far in Rendell's five-plus years as governor, no budget has been finalized before the start of the fiscal year. And with a one-vote Democratic majority in the House, the budget could become an election-year issue should negotiations stretch into July again.

"There's no reason why Republicans would want to drag it out," said House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg. "It would put egg on everybody's face, not just Democrats."

Last year's budget negotiations spilled into mid-July, wrapping up only after a one-day furlough of more than 20,000 state employees and a private meeting between the Democratic governor and the Senate's Republican majority leader, Dominic Pileggi.

This year, money will be tighter, since Rendell's proposed budget relies, in part, on a $425 million surplus from this year that few legislative budget analysts expect to be that large.

Despite that, House Republicans say they will still push for a tax cut.

"When you're constantly generating a surplus, this administration's view is that's just more money to spend next year," said House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson. "I'm saying, government is spending enough money."

Democrats say there is not enough money for a tax cut, and point out that the Rendell administration is releasing more than $600 million in revenue from slot-machine gambling to cut taxes statewide.

One major point of contention likely will be the size of a spending increase on basic education in public schools - Rendell proposed a 6 percent increase, or $291 million - and how an increase should be distributed to school districts.

The budget aside, the annual debate over how to spend billions of dollars provides the opportunity to win votes on any of the dozen-plus initiatives and other proposals that are crowded onto the legislative plate.

Some issues have been stuck in partisan limbo for more than a year.

"There's horse trading, there's intimidation during a budget because people are prepared to do whatever they have to do to get their pet project, and they're prepared to cast a vote in June that they might not in October," said Sen. Robert J. Mellow, the Democratic leader from Lackawanna County.

Senate Republicans, who control the chamber, want Rendell to withdraw his nominations to fill state appellate judgeships. Rendell has demanded they get confirmation votes, and the showdown is likely to play out in the coming weeks.

Democrats want the state to borrow more for local civic projects. Negotiators are trying to resolve differences between competing proposals to fund clean-energy projects and electricity conservation efforts; Rendell backs an $850 million plan, while the Senate GOP has a $650 million plan.

Senate Republicans say they plan to propose their own response to a $1 billion health insurance plan written and passed in March by House Democrats. For much of the week, Rendell has toured the state, trying to raise support for the measure.

With a severe increase in electric bills looming for many Pennsylvanians in the next three years, lawmakers also will be looking for ways to blunt the cost increase.

Lobbyists also will be active.

Doctors and hospitals want the state to resume a five-year, $1 billion medical-malpractice insurance subsidy. That subsidy lapsed March 31 after Rendell insisted that the future of the program be tied to approval of the House Democrats' proposal to help subsidize health insurance for an additional 220,000 adults.

And a coalition of public health advocates are tussling with tavern and casino owners over the extent of legislation that would ban smoking in most indoor places.

The mine workers union and coal mine owners are at odds over a mine safety bill that passed the Senate in February after several years of wrangling.

The heavy agenda has both chambers scheduled to be in session for the next two weeks, and then back in for most of June.

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