"We did an awful lot in this session, an awful lot that will improve the lives of ordinary Pennsylvanians," Rendell said at an early evening bill-signing ceremony in the Capitol.

The 2008-09 state budget - and a flurry of other legislation - was approved four days into the state government's new fiscal year.

The nearly $28.3 billion in spending represents an increase of about $1 billion over the just-ended fiscal year, with more than 90 percent of that increase going to education and social services.

Public schools will get an unprecedented $274 million increase, or 5.5 percent, for operations and instruction. An additional $65 million, up 40 percent, will go to charter schools.

Rendell called it "a very good budget, a great budget indeed. I'm pleased to sign it." Although the measure passed by wide margins in both chambers of the Legislature, some House Republicans said that it would saddle the state with unsustainable debt and that it doled out the education dollars inequitably.

Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, said the budget relied too much on borrowing, failed to adequately restrain growth and did not cut taxes.

"We keep hearing from all the people that want, want, want from Harrisburg," he said. "But I'm convinced that the majority of Pennsylvanians don't want anything but to let their hard-earned money stay in their pocket."

The Department of Public Welfare budget will rise by $633 million, or 6.6 percent, with huge increases in primary and nursing home care for the poor, services for the mentally retarded, child- welfare services and help for the working poor who have children.

Payments on debt will rise by nearly $50 million, or more than 5 percent.

"Like putting anything together, everybody's not going to get what they want," said Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, the Appropriations Committee chairman, shortly before the House voted 170-32 in favor of the main budget bill. "That's what I mean by you've got to make choices. I think we made some excellent choices."

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said limiting the budget's growth to roughly 4 percent - slightly less than Rendell had sought - and preserving the "rainy day" contingency fund positioned the state better to weather the current economic downturn.

The measure passed the Senate, 49-1, without debate.

House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, noted that it did not provide any broad tax increases, that it avoided furloughs and that it was balanced even as other large industrial states have faced much more painful budget choices.

Also passing in the waning hours of session before lawmakers vacated Harrisburg for the General Assembly's summer break was legislation to help seniors maintain eligibility for prescription-drug subsidies under the PACE and PACENET programs and a bill to collect 9-1-1-system fees from people who use the Internet for phone service.

A package of energy bills that would provide more than $650 million to encourage alternative energy and fuels and to improve conservation was sent to Rendell, and the Legislature approved billions in borrowing for economic- development projects, water and sewer systems and other needs.

"The best thing about these projects is they're going to put a lot of Pennsylvanians to work," Rendell said. *