Senate Passes Furlough Relief Bill

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Senate passed Senator Mike Waugh’s (R-York) SB 546, which would utilize unused funds from the current fiscal year to provide “furlough relief” for non-essential state workers. 

Governor Rendell has been threatening to furlough non-essential workers, as he did for one day last year, if the state budget is not complete by the constitutional deadline of June 30.  

“This would allow state agencies to pay employees even if the 2008-2009 budget isn't passed by June 30," Waugh said.  

SB 546 re-appropriates funds from the current 2007-2008 fiscal year that have not been used by the program for which they were originally designated.  Therefore, money is available at this time to pay those non-essential state employees instead of furloughing them or using money from the Rainy Day Fund, as has been proposed in the House. 

"We are doing all we can to enact an on-time budget," Waugh said. "However, state employees should not be furloughed in the event we work past June 30th.”