State lawmakers are making progress on next year's budget three months before their June 30 deadline.
But it's still a legislature prone to deadlock, so state Treasurer Joe Torsella is making preparations for a potential impasse.
Most of the time when Harrisburg misses its budget deadline, it's not a serious issue. A majority of state services can keep running for a time on the budget from the previous fiscal year.
But if lawmakers miss the deadline by a lot, questions arise. Namely, can the treasury keep paying out public money to the branches of government?