Lawyers for the State of Pennsylvania and for Harrisburg’s mayor have asked a federal judge to throw out the bankruptcy petition filed for the city this week after the City Council voted for it. The state’s lawyer said a state law expressly forbids it, while a lawyer for Harrisburg said the council majority and the lawyer it hired did not have the authority to file for bankruptcy. Judge Mary D. France of the United States Bankruptcy Court scheduled a conference on the matter for Monday. The council majority and Mayor Linda Thompson have clashed over a recovery plan developed with state officials, prompting state lawmakers to push a bill that would instead let the governor declare a fiscal emergency and install someone to make spending decisions. That measure, supported by Gov. Tom Corbett, has passed the House and is expected to be taken up by the Senate next week.

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