Didn't know this was brewing.... Penn. Gov. Orders Partial State Shutdown
breitbart.com
Jul 8 11:31 PM US/Eastern
By MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press Writers
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell late Sunday ordered a range of state government services shut down and placed about a third of the state work force on indefinite unpaid furlough after frantic last-minute negotiations failed to break a budget stalemate.
Rendell, appearing outside his Capitol office, said the shutdown would go forward but he and legislators will continue to work toward a deal.
"Let me say to our hardworking and dedicated state employees, we worked as hard as we could today," Rendell said. But, he said, negotiations and serious consideration of his priorities, which he maintains must be passed along with a state spending plan, began too late.
"We didn't start early enough," Rendell said. "I think everybody was at fault."
Pennsylvanians will be unable to take driver's license tests, state- run museums will be shuttered and casinos will have to stop taking bets Monday. Highway maintenance and a range of permitting and licensing functions will be stopped or severely curtailed, and the lights illuminating the Capitol's dome were to be turned off.
This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)—Pennsylvanians will be unable to take a driver's license test, visit a state-run museum or place a casino bet starting Monday unless an 11th-hour breakthrough ends a budget stalemate that threatens a partial government shutdown.
If Sunday ends without a compromise between Gov. Ed Rendell and the Legislature, 24,000 state workers whose jobs are not deemed to be essential to health and safety will be furloughed without pay at 12:01 a.m. Monday. Critical services—such as health care, state police patrols and prisons—would still be maintained.
At Gifford Pinchot State Park in Lewisberry, 70-year-old retiree Janice Sorgen and her family are among those who will have to vacate the park's 10 cabins and 100 camping spots first thing Monday morning if a deal is not reached.
"To do it in this manner is ridiculous," said Sorgen, who drove 500 miles from Fort Wayne, Ind., for a family vacation. "They can just pay us for driving down here and driving back."
Refunds are available to people who request them, said park manager Bill Rosevear.
The state remained without a budget for an eighth day as a battle of wills dragged on between Rendell, a Democrat, and Republicans in control of the state Senate.
High-level negotiations were being conducted by telephone even as state lawmakers began arriving at the Capitol on Sunday afternoon.
As Rendell met with House Democratic leaders in his office, his top aides shuttled back and forth to Senate offices. A senior Democrat, Sen. Vincent J. Fumo of Philadelphia, said they were carrying an offer to avert the furloughs by approving some of the governor's legislative priorities now and considering others in the fall.
"I think everybody's trying to avoid a catastrophe," Fumo said. But, he added, "Nobody wants to walk away saying they lost."
Senate Republicans gathered behind closed doors just after 9 p.m. to discuss the latest negotiations with Rendell's office. A senior negotiator for Rendell, Steven Crawford, said there was no deal that would avert furloughs.
Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said the governor had not determined what time Sunday he would announce whether furloughs and a partial shutdown would occur.
One Republican senator said he believed an agreement on the $27 billion budget was near. But disagreements remain over the governor's other priorities, including an energy plan that Rendell has insisted the Legislature approve before he signs the budget, said Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong.
"The budget is not the sticking point," he said.
Rendell's energy plan would place a surcharge on electricity use for a fund for alternative energy programs and electricity conservation.
Both chambers of the Legislature convened in the late afternoon.
A legal effort by state employees' unions to put furloughs on hold failed Saturday, but a hearing was scheduled for Monday.
A judge was expected to rule later Sunday on a request by Pennsylvania's five slot-machine casinos to prevent the state from shutting them down.
As the clock ticked toward midnight, gamblers still trying their luck at Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino in Bensalem, just outside Philadelphia, called the showdown nothing more than politics.
"These casinos are supposed to be here to make money, to lower taxes and create jobs. And now they're using them as a threat against each other," Beth Rompert said.
"It's all grandstanding, and it's ridiculous," said her friend, Maryann Breen, who was playing a Wheel of Fortune machine. "They're going to lose so many millions of dollars if they close the casinos, even for a day or two."
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Associated Press writer JoAnn Loviglio in Bensalem contributed to this story. |
