Pennsylvania Furloughs State Workers

Pennsylvania furloughed nearly 25,000 state workers because of a budget impasse Monday but kept its casinos open.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell’s furlough order curtailed many state services, but a court quickly ordered the state’s five slot casinos kept open rather than lose $1.7 million in daily revenue, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Rendell, a Democrat, apologized to Pennsylvania residents for what he said he hoped would be a one-day furlough of non-critical workers, such as park rangers.

Budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans are stalled over a Rendell-supported plan for a $5.40 surcharge on residential electric bills to support an $850 million fund for alternative and renewable energy.

Republican legislative leaders said they were outraged that Rendell would furlough state employees rather dip into a $650 million surplus to keep the state running, the newspaper said.

There is no budget crisis, Bill Adolph, a Republican state legislator, told the Inquirer.