By MARC LEVY Associated Press

HARRISBURG — Billions of dollars for Pennsylvania’s public schools and social services could soon start flowing after four-plus months of delay, as lawmakers on Wednesday approved key elements of a roughly $50 billion spending plan to break the state’s budget impasse.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro planned to sign key budget bills by the end of the day.

Under the $50.1 billion no-new-taxes budget deal, new authorized spending would rise by about $2.4 billion, or 5%, including some cash going onto last year’s books.

A concession to help seal a deal meant Democrats in the politically divided Legislature agreeing to Republican demands to undo a regulation aimed at making Pennsylvania the only major fossil fuel-producing state to force power plant owners to pay

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