After four months of unprecedented public outcry and a voter rage that cost a state Supreme Court justice his job, the General Assembly is on the verge of fully repealing last summer's pay raises.

The state House voted 197-1 on Monday to send a full repeal of the legislative, judicial and executive raises to the Senate, which is set to act on Wednesday.

The House vote comes after a week of negotiations that saw the two chambers butt heads over how best to reduce judicial salaries without running afoul of the state Constitution.

Legislators can't cut judges' pay ''unless by law applying generally to all salaried officers.'' The clause was designed to protect the judiciary from political reprisals by the General Assembly.

Legislative leaders said the House-approved compromise language addresses that requirement by making it clear that the repeal applies to all three branches of government affected by the raise.

''It is our best effort to put forth what I believe is the intent of the House and Senate and to state [that] as clearly as possible,'' said House Majority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson.

Both the Senate and Gov. Ed Rendell are expected to sign off on the compromise language, which would return legislative pay to its pre-July levels.

Before the raise, lawmakers made a base salary of $69,047. But the raise bill tied legislative wages and others to a percentage of what's paid at the federal level. Legislators, for instance, were to receive half the pay of a U.S. congressman.

To the consternation of reformers, however, the march back in time also means legislators still will receive annual cost-of-living adjustments to their salaries.

On Monday morning, activists called on the General Assembly to eliminate the cost-of-living adjustments and pay back the early raises that many lawmakers took through so-called ''unvouchered expense'' payments.

At least one prominent Republican â€