HARRISBURG (TNS) — With Pennsylvania approaching a full month without a budget in place, Gov. Josh Shapiro said he is “frustrated” by the pace of closed-door negotiations, but he and top lawmakers say there has been no animosity as they grapple with complex, long-festering issues.

The constitutional deadline for a budget was June 30, but officials have said the absence of one will not begin to significantly affect state money flows until next month at the earliest. At a public appearance Wednesday in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Shapiro said talks have been “cordial” and “respectful” but “I am frustrated by how long it takes.”

He also noted that about 160 days had passed since he introduced his proposed $51.5 billion spending plan in early February.

Among top lawmakers who are close to the process, Democratic state Sen. Jay Costa of Allegheny County, the minority leader in the Senate, said issues still being addressed include transit and transportation funding, education spending and Medicaid. Conversations are happening regularly and there is forward movement, he said.

Shapiro’s original proposal called for a $293 million increase for mass transit, including $40 million for Pittsburgh Regional Transit. Republicans said no transit-funding boost can occur with additional money for road and bridge projects.

They also criticized Shapiro’s call for a $2 billion increase for the Department of Human Services — including a big chunk of Medicaid funding — and have repeatedly pointed to what they describe as already-large levels of education spending in the state.

While major problems have not yet surfaced, educators say less-obvious fallout already is occurring. That includes a decision in Butler Area School District to hold off on signing software-related contracts until, as one official put it, “we know what our funding truly is.”

State Rep. Jesse Topper of Bedford County, the Republican minority leader in the House, said the reason no big breakthroughs have been announced is negotiators are seeking comprehensive solutions — not just one-year spend numbers — on several “important and complex issues.”

For still-unresolved topics, Topper ticked off items that included transportation; an education approach that includes “reform and parental empowerment”; and curbing overall budget costs going forward. Each one of those, he said, cannot realistically proceed without some sort of understanding on the others.

“Those are massive policy conversations and you can’t just advance them in a silo,” Topper said.

Published comments provided by a spokesperson for state Sen. Joe Pittman of Indiana County, the majority leader in the Senate, indicated he also attributes the pace of negotiations to their complexity.

A longtime Democratic House member who is not directly involved, Scott Conklin of Centre County, said they have been made more complex by massive changes in federal funding to states since President Donald Trump took office. Conklin, who chairs the House Commerce Committee, said state lawmakers are “very concerned about where this federal budget is going to take us.”

Democratic lawmakers have pointed to stoppages or federal threats to flows of money especially in education and Human Services. A recent federal reconciliation bill signed by Trump on July 4 was more than 860 pages, and Conklin said its details and ramifications were still being absorbed by states.

Republican Rep. Lou Schmitt of Blair County — who also is not directly involved in negotiations — said it was interesting that none of his constituents in Altoona or nearby townships have said anything about the overdue budget. In past late-budget scenarios, he said, people in his district were talking about the situation.

“Maybe because there is so much going on in Washington,” Schmitt speculated. “They really don’t seem to be paying attention to Harrisburg.”

After the private negotiations produce an agreement, the House and Senate will have to meet in public session to pass an appropriations bill and numerous related bills, which will then go to Shapiro for his signature. As of Thursday afternoon, neither chamber had any voting sessions scheduled before September.