The Pennsylvania Senate has approved a new funding plan that would help Pittsburgh Regional Transit avoid making service cuts. The Republican-controlled Senate passed two major bills along party lines, one of which was a general fund appropriations bill, and the other was regarding a $1.2 billion transit plan.

Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate has passed a funding bill that would largely use capital funding to maintain transit operations, a move the state’s governor and Democratically-controlled House say is not a viable solution to the funding shortfall that could lead to major service cuts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

More than six weeks past the state budget deadline, the Republican-led Senate returned to Harrisburg Tuesday afternoon to pass its own spending proposal — one that stands little chance in the Democratic-led House.