Secret budget meetings have begun

John Micek reports on (and mocks) Governor Rendell's press conference on the state budget yesterday:

Rendell and some House Democrats called for an end to the annual posturing that usually leads to the furloughing of several thousand angry state employees.Having accomplished this, Rendell and the Democrats then went on to posture for at least the next 20 minutes by threatening ... you guessed it ... to furlough state employees unless lawmakers and the administration are able to come to an agreement by June 30.

Micek also notes that Dwight Evans doesn't want to go through the "fake budget" process - having debate and amendments in committee or on the floor, i.e. the textbook and constitutional version of how a bill becomes a law - but wants to just skip to the real process - secret meetings among legislative leaders where all kinds of deals are struck.