Pa.+House+passes+27.15+billion+budget+-+awaits+Corbett's+signature

=By Tracie Mauriello and Laura Olson= =//Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette//= =//6/29/11//= = = = = = = = = =HARRISBURG — After nearly six hours of contentious debate, the state House tonight sent Gov. Tom Corbett a $27.l5 billion spending plan that allows him to keep his campaign promises of signing a budget on time and with no tax increases.= =Those factors made it a key victory for the new administration, even though Mr. Corbett didn't get everything he wanted. He'll have to wait until fall for lawmakers to consider his plan to provide private-school vouchers to low-income children whose neighborhood public schools are under-performing. = = A handful of related bills are still working their way through the Legislature. Those include a plan for how education dollars are distributed to school districts. = =Passage came on a 109-92 vote that mostly followed party lines.= =When Mr. Corbett signs that general-fund bill and the accompanying measures, likely on Thursday, it will be the first on-time budget in nine years. It also will be the first time since at least 1970 that state spending will be less than the previous year.= =Passage came over the objections of Democrats, who say the budget under-funds education, health care and human services.= =They complained that spending reductions will force school districts to raise local taxes in order to compensate for funding reductions.= =Republicans have an answer for that: legislation that would require voter approval for property tax hikes that exceed an inflationary index. That bill could come to a vote in the next day or two, also over Democrats' objections = =Read more: [] =

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