Looks like a deal has been reached with Rendell.
“Did we get everything we wanted when we wanted it? No,†said Gov. Edward G. Rendell at an 11 p.m. news conference. “There has to be some give and take. That was the case in this budget process.â€
Good to know he didn’t get everything he wanted. But what about the energy tax Rendell wanted?
The two sides agreed to hold off on the issue that had been the most difficult: whether to impose a surcharge on electric bills to pay for alternative energy initiatives. Lawmakers agreed to take that issue up in a special session in the fall, Mr. Rendell said.
A special session? I think that’s the end of that issue. There’s no sure way to kill something than to have a “special session”. It looks to me like Rendell backed down. I can’t imagine this is going to please my state rep, who has been e-mailing regularly to tell of his steadfastness to have alternative energy funding be part of the state budget. The Republicans wanted to slash $300 million from Rendell’s proposed budget. No word yet on how much of that they might have gotten.
More to come, but later.