HARRISBURG (AP) The Republican-controlled Legislature appeared more firmly on course Monday to passing a state budget opposed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, raising the likelihood of a veto and an extended stalemate.

Nine days out from the start of Pennsylvania's next fiscal year, the House and Senate had no major votes scheduled as Republican leaders conducted most of the work behind closed doors.They gave few details about their efforts to hammer out a budget plan and measures to overhaul public pension benefits and privatize the state-controlled wine and liquor stores that could pass both chambers.But they acknowledged the likelihood that the only plans Wolf will get on his desk before July 1 will be negotiated by Republicans."As every hour ticks by, that likelihood gets much higher," said Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, who held a Capitol news conference with House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny.Across the building, Wolf met privately with top Democratic lawmakers and then blasted Republicans.The GOP leaders' focus on proposals for reducing the cost of the public pension systems and privatizing liquor and wine sales is interfering with more important discussions, he told reporters."I'm not seeing a real interest in having an honest conversation," the governor said. "I really want to talk about education funding. I really want to talk about (a proposed natural-gas) severance tax, property-tax relief, about addressing the structural budget deficit."A stalemate into the new fiscal year will mean a loss of some spending authority by the Wolf administration, which would start affecting state services around mid-July.Wolf has proposed an aggressive plan to increase spending through the state's main bank account by about 9 percent to $31.6 billion, largely to wipe out a large deficit, boost public school aid and meet rising pension and health care costs. He also proposed billions of dollars in reduced corporate and school property taxes by raising state taxes on income, sales, Marcellus Shale natural gas production, tobacco sales and banks.Republicans have balked at a tax increase and have insisted since December that any budget agreement with Wolf include pension and liquor legislation. But they have not introduced or passed a budget counterproposal, and they have not produced pension or liquor legislation that can pass both chambers and produce significant new revenue or savings to help them buttress their case against a tax increase.