HARRISBURG (AP) – Work on a new state budget for PA will continue into the week ahead as the state government started the fiscal year with diminished spending authority and details of a new plan still largely a secret. Leaders of the Republican-controlled House and Senate sent rank-and-file lawmakers home through the holiday weekend, but top lawmakers professed confidence that closed-door negotiations on a roughly $42 billion spending plan were on the right track. While some lawmakers want to spend all federal pandemic funds sent to the state, others say the budget can’t spend all of the funds and setting some aside is prudent. Without new spending authority in place, the state is legally barred from making some payments, although a stalemate must typically last several weeks before any effect on services is felt.
