With lawmakers returning to work tomorrow for the final go-round in the Pennsylvania budget process, many here are wondering again whether they will spend another Fourth of July holiday in the Capitol.

Partisan squabbles have slowed budget negotiations each June since Gov. Rendell took office in 2003, sometimes leading to late-night blowups and always to a blown deadline on the 30th. This year is shaping up to be no different.

In addition to his proposed $28.3 billion budget, Rendell wants to borrow millions of dollars for energy conservation and expanded health care for the uninsured, while Republicans want tax cuts and reduced spending.

To get what he wants, Rendell has kicked into high gear his PR campaign for several big-ticket items that he believes are integral to the budget negotiations. Rendell or his surrogates have been dispatched across the state to seek public support for a $850 million energy-conservation program, a $390 million five-year plan to provide health care for tens of thousands of uninsured Pennsylvanians, and to increase education funding by $2.6 billion over six years.