The state House voted to non-concur with a Senate amended version of the state budget on Tuesday. The Senate plan reduced the overall spending level to #27.1 billion, restored funding to higher education and would not require a tax hike. The House action now moves the bill into a House / Senate conference committee where a compromise budget can be hammered out. Rep. Frank Farry (R-Bucks) said he is glad to see an end to the budget games, and hopes agreement on a spending plan can be reached soon so state workers can be paid. Mike Davies Reports – Story and Bite available.

A bi-partisan group of House lawmakers joined together Thursday outside of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records to call for increased accountability and transparency in Harrisburg by creating a publicly accessible on-line database of all state government expenditures. Rep. Frank Farry (R-Bucks), a co- sponsor of the Pennwatch bill, said lawmakers want to dramatically expand the number of state expense records available to help ensure accountability in state government spending. Mike Davies Reports - Story and Bite available.