Governor Ed Rendell delivered a roughly 45-minute, mostly one-way speech to House and Senate Democrats during a special meeting Monday afternoon to rally support for his proposed temporary personal income tax increase.

But the governor still has plenty of arm-twisting ahead of him if he wants enough support from the rank-and-file, according to one senior Democratic House member.

Governor Rendell is “significantly short” of the 102 House votes needed for a PIT hike, said Rep. Joe Markosek (D-Allegheny).

The governor, in the face of a $3.2 billion revenue shortfall, has proposed increasing the PIT half a percentage point, from 3.07 percent to 3.57 percent, for three years.

The House Transportation Committee chairman himself said he doesn’t support the tax increase. His constituents, he said, don’t have any tolerance for it.

At least one other Democratic lawmaker agreed with his assessment.

Asked if 102 Democrats would back the tax hike if voted today, Rep. Mike Gerber (D-Montgomery) said,” I think our leaders are smart enough not to bring it up for a vote today.”

Rep. Gerber, who attended the mid-afternoon press conference with other Democratic leaders supporting the PIT increase, said he supports the proposal “in concept.” The General Assembly

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