Pennsylvania's House Republicans, at long last, appear to be closing in on a serious counter-offer to a package of borrowing and taxes passed earlier this summer by the state Senate and endorsed by Gov. Tom Wolf.

Key members of the majority caucus - which has faced mounting criticism in recent weeks as the pinch-point blocking agreement on a $2.2 billion revenue package needed to balance the $32 billion state budget - reportedly settled on elements of a compromise late Tuesday that could get a first floor vote as early as Wednesday.

Details were being kept under wraps Tuesday night, in large part because the final sale to the full 121-member caucus won't occur until Wednesday morning.

But sources familiar with the deal said it will include a re-packaging of the controversial proposed borrowing against future payments owed Pennsylvania from the national tobacco settlement; more than $700 million in transfers of surpluses from special funds and other unspent general fund money; and $400 million to $500 million in new taxes and other recurring revenues.

Under the House plan, rights to a portion of the future tobacco settlement payments would be sold in exchange for an immediate cash infusion of about $1 billion. The state would still receive the remainder.

Once the buyer's purchase price was met, the full settlement payment - currently about $350 million annually - would revert back to the state. House supporters believe their version will cost the state less than a bond issue, and be closed out in a much faster time period.

The emerging plan also contains a scaled-back amount of transfers from reserves in dozens of state special funds identified as surpluses this summer by a group of fiscal conservatives dubbing themselves the "taxpayer caucus."

"It's not exactly the plan that we rolled out last week, but that's a big, big part of it," said Rep. Dan Moul, R-Gettysburg and a leader of that group.

To help secure key votes from more moderate Republicans from the Philadelphia region, Moul said, funds that support key transportation initiatives would apparently be spared, and the remaining sweeps would be one-time draws - meaning dedicated funding streams for issues like farmland preservation, public transit or bolstering Pennsylvania horse race purses would be left untouched.

The final element of the House GOP plan would apparently be a package of new taxes and other revenue raisers, including the some that will likely need support from a significant number of Democrats to pass.

The list, sources said, will come from a menu that includes the legalization of Internet-based gambling, run by the state's existing casino licensees; an effort to capture more sales tax revenue from on-line vendors; and a possible elimination of a sales tax exemption for certain types of commercial storage.

Some moderate Republican members were said to still be pressing for inclusion of a tax on natural gas drilled from the Marcellus Shale.

The tax package's main goal appeared to be produce enough recurring revenue to satisfy Wolf, while avoiding any taxes that would hurt large numbers of Pennsylvania consumers - including the package of consumption-based gross receipts taxes passed by the Senate in July.

The compromise will be a tough sale, but leaders and members of the majority House caucus seemed optimistic Tuesday that they are finally on the cusp of a breakthrough.

"There's a few more details being worked out. We're confident that those details are going to be worked out... and we're anticipating a vote this week, absolutely," said House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana County, after a Tuesday afternoon meeting with Delaware County House members.

If amendments carrying elements of the new plan survive the morning caucus, the language could get its first test on the House floor as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Final passage, however, would not come before Friday; the House will be in recess Thursday because of funeral services for Rep. Dan McNeill, a Democrat from Lehigh County who died last week.

That would likely cue a final round of negotiations between the House, Senate and the Wolf Administration, just as consequences of the funding gap in the fiscal year begun July 1 start to get to a whole new level of serious.

State Treasurer Joe Torsella sent a letter to lawmakers Tuesday warning he will be forced to hold payment on some state general fund bills by Friday, when a large number of payments to medical assistance providers is expected to come due.

Torsella said to his knowledge this would be the first time the state has been unable to make payments because of insufficient funds.

That's a problem that appears to be forced in part by a separate Treasury decision: Torsella has declared he is "disinclined" to make any new loans to the Wolf Administration from the Treasury's Short-Term Investment Pool.

The Treasury, under former Treasurer Tim Reese, opened a line of credit to the state for $2.5 billion in August 2016.

Torsella, who took office in January, also authorized a $750 million line of credit Aug. 14.

But he has said going further at this point, especially in the absence of tangible progress on a revenue package, would create an economic "moral hazard" for the state.

It was not immediately clear in the fog of budget war what impact Torsella's latest warning will have on state services, or if a serious renewal of negotiations at the Capitol would change Torsella's view on making another short-term loan.

Mike Connolly, a Treasury spokesman, said in practice, the state will continue to make payments on its bills as money becomes available - the state continues to receive billions of dollars in general fund revenue each month under the existing tax code.

If the new momentum sensed among House Republicans translates to quick action, of course, any disruptions in payments may be minimized.

"I believe the plan that will be put forth tomorrow represents some of the goals of all four caucuses in the Legislature, and some of the goals of the governor," said Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-Delaware County, and one of the suburban Philly Republicans engaged in the fiscal work-out with the taxpayer caucus Tuesday.

"At the end of the day, we have to come together and compromise, and I believe this plan does that without raising taxes on working Pennsylvanians."