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The Latest: Pennsylvania House debates casino expansion bill

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on the Pennsylvania Legislature's budget votes (all times local):

11 p.m.

The Pennsylvania House is taking a break from debate on a just-unveiled plan to expand casino-style gambling to truck stops, online portals, airports and 10 new mini-casino sites.

The 470-page bill is scheduled to re-emerge on the House floor Thursday morning. It became public Wednesday evening and quickly won Senate approval, 31-19. House GOP majority leaders support it, while opponents warned that the bill carries a raft of unintended consequences.

The debate is happening amid a four-month budget stalemate, as lawmakers look for cash to stitch together Pennsylvania's deficit-riddled finances.

The bill's license fees and taxes on gambling losses is projected to net upward of $200 million a year. Pennsylvania is the No. 2 commercial casino state, netting $1.4 billion in taxes from the industry last year.

It would make Pennsylvania the first state to allow both casino and lottery games online. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf isn't saying whether he supports it.

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8 p.m.

The Pennsylvania Senate has approved a plan to expand casino-style gambling to truck stops, online portals, airports and 10 new casino sites, as lawmakers scramble to break a four-month budget stalemate.

The bill, approved 31-19 on Wednesday night, passed barely an hour after the Senate made a draft of it public. A House vote could follow later Wednesday night.

Senate leaders expect the plan would raise more than $200 million in license fees and higher gambling losses in a bid to help stitch together the state's deficit-riddled finances.

It would make Pennsylvania the first state to allow both casino and lottery games online, in a quest for money from new and younger players.

It also would require casinos to pay a $10 million payment annually to their host communities, in an effort to reinstate a mandate struck down more than a year ago by the state Supreme Court.

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7:30 p.m.

Lawmakers are approving $650 million in university aid as they scramble to break a four-month stalemate over fixing Pennsylvania's deficit-riddled finances.

The House on Wednesday approved the aid to Penn State, Lincoln and Temple universities, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary school. It had been held up in the budget stalemate.

That's despite protests from some Republican lawmakers that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf hasn't pledged to sign a House plan that includes borrowing $1.5 billion and a grab bag of tax increases that's projected to yield as much as $140 million a year.

A just-emerging Senate plan would authorize gambling at 10 new casino locations, truck stops, airports and casino-run websites in a bid to raise millions more from the gambling industry. Efforts to win both House and Senate approval for the gambling bill could run late into Wednesday night.

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5 p.m.

Lawmakers are scrambling to advance massive borrowing and casino gambling measures to help resolve a four-month stalemate over how to fix Pennsylvania's deficit-riddled finances.

The Senate on Wednesday voted 29-21 to approve a House plan that includes borrowing $1.5 billion and a grab bag of tax increases that's projected to yield as much as $140 million a year.

Hanging in the balance is roughly $650 million in aid to five universities, including Penn State. Meanwhile, a bill to impose a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production is stalled amid opposition by House Republican leaders.

A Senate plan still under wraps would authorize gambling at 10 new casino locations, truck stops, airports and casino-run websites. Efforts to win both House and Senate approval could run late into Wednesday night.

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3:30 p.m.

Lawmakers are scrambling to advance massive borrowing and casino gambling measures to help resolve a nearly four-month stalemate over how to fix Pennsylvania's deficit-riddled finances.

Wednesday's House and Senate voting sessions could run late into Wednesday night.

Hanging in the balance is roughly $650 million in aid to five universities, including Penn State. Meanwhile, a House bill to impose a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production is stalled amid opposition by House Republican leaders.

The Senate is poised to take up a House plan that includes borrowing $1.5 billion and a grab bag of tax increases that's projected to yield as much as $140 million in a full year.

A Senate plan still under wraps would authorize gambling at 10 new casino locations, truck stops, airports and casino-run websites.