Mr. Rendell so far has resisted putting a stopgap spending plan for fiscal 2009-10 into place, but he said he's directed his cabinet members to figure out a plan that would work. He said he may announce it as early as Wednesday unless unexpected progress toward a new state budget is reached by then.
One advantage of a stopgap budget is that it would let the state's 77,000 employees receive their full pay -- rather than the partial paychecks they've been getting for the past two weeks. It also ensures that state services aren't shut down.
But it also takes off some of the pressure on Mr. Rendell and state legislators to complete their work of enacting a new budget, thus dragging out the process.
Asked for details on how a stopgap budget would work, Mr. Rendell said, "As they say in the electronic media, stay tuned."
Asked if the Legislature's OK would be needed for a stopgap budget, he said, "It may. That's what I've asked my staff to look at, a whole host of different potential (aspects)."
The state hasn't had to use a stopgap budget since 1977. One way it could work, officials said, is to divide the previous fiscal year's budget (of about $28 billion) by 12 and then appropriate one month of revenue, or two months of revenue, so employees and vendors can be paid on a short-term basis. That would permit a little breathing room -- at least until the one-month or two-month interim period has ended.
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