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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on legislative efforts to pass a new state budget for Pennsylvania (all times local):
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7:20 p.m.
State lawmakers are sending the main budget bill to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, hours before Pennsylvania's new fiscal year begins.
The House voted 144 to 54 on Thursday for a $31.5 billion spending plan that will increase funding to public schools and to combat Pennsylvania's opioid drug crisis.
The bill is only part of the package of legislation that makes up the budget, and there's no agreement yet about where lawmakers are going to find more than $1 billion in new revenue to fund it.
Among the sources under consideration are higher tobacco taxes, tax delinquents, more legalized gambling and brisker wine and liquor sales.
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6:20 p.m.
Debate on a budget to fund state government is underway in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, less than six hours before the new fiscal year begins.
State representatives on Thursday evening began discussing a $31.5 billion spending plan that would boost K-12 education funding by $200 million and dedicate new resources to fighting the state's opioid drug crisis.
Lawmakers haven't figured out where they're going to get new revenues they'll need to cover a massive deficit and about $1.5 billion in spending above the current year's level.
They're considering new receipts from higher tobacco taxes, tax delinquents, more legalized gambling and brisker wine and liquor sales.
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11:20 a.m.
The Pennsylvania House and Senate are returning to session on the last day of the state government's fiscal year, with differences remaining on a tax package necessary to finance a $31.5 billion budget plan.
Lawmakers are expected to hold more Thursday votes on spending legislation. On Wednesday, the Senate added $39 million, or 2.5 percent, for higher education institutions and tuition grants to a budget package passed a day earlier by the House.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf praised the Senate's budget plan, but House officials aren't saying how they'll handle it.
Meanwhile, Wolf says a House plan to raise $1 billion for the state's deficit-plagued finances is inadequate. That plan is based on $1 billion in projected new receipts from higher tobacco taxes, tax delinquents, more legalized gambling and brisker wine and liquor sales.
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