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For Immediate
Release
5/9/12
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- Senator Scarnati
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- Senator Corman
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Listen - Senator Pileggi
Senate Approves FY 2012-13 Budget
Senate Bill 1466 goes to House for consideration
Better than
anticipated revenues over the past few months enabled the Senate to pass a
General Fund budget bill for Fiscal Year 2012-13 on Wednesday that makes
significant restorations without raising taxes, according to Senator Jake
Corman, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
"Senate
Bill 1466 will provide substantial restorations to certain areas of the
Governor's proposed budget that reflect the fiscal realities that we have
today. Increased revenues over the past few months allowed us to alter what the
Governor had initially proposed back in February, including significant
restorations to higher education, basic education, early childhood funding, and
social service funding," Senator Corman said.
General
Fund spending for Fiscal Year 2012-13, as proposed in SB 1466, is $27.656
billion, $517.2 million, or 1.9 percent more than the Governor's budget request
in February.
"This
budget, which is sustainable and balanced, reflects less than a 2 percent
increase over last year, and is still less than the budget passed in 2008," said
Corman. "The budget reaffirms our commitment to keeping spending in line with
revenues, and continues to acknowledge that we cannot increase the burden on
taxpayers."
SB 1466
reaffirms Senate Republican's commitment to providing Pennsylvania's young
people with a quality education from the youngest ages through their college
years, Corman stressed. SB 1466 maintains state support for Pennsylvania's
state-related universities, State System of Higher Education schools and
community colleges at their current levels.
"The
significant restorations to higher education get funding back to last year's
level," Senator Corman said. "With our commitment to higher education, we have
received commitments from the three presidents of Penn State, Pitt and Temple,
as well as the chancellor of the State System of Higher Education, that the full
restoration will give them the ability to keep tuition increases to a minimum,
at most no higher than the Consumer Price Index. That will be significant to the
families and students around Pennsylvania and a refreshing change for them to
see a smaller tuition increase."
The budget
bill also includes additional support for local school districts over what the
Governor proposed in February. SB 1466 adds more than $132 million in support
for basic education, Accountability Block Grants and early childhood education
programs over the February proposal.
Senate Bill
1466 also reinvests significant funding to help counties and local agencies
provide essential social and health services to Pennsylvanians with physical and
mental disabilities, senior citizens and families.
The bill
restores $84 million in funding for the various programs that would be bundled
under the Governor's proposed Human Services Development Block Grant. Under his
proposal, funding for multiple county administered programs would be
consolidated into a single block grant.
SB 1466
restores $20 million in funding for vital Community Mental Retardation and
Intellectual Disability programs that assist thousands of Pennsylvanians and
their families on a daily basis.
The bill
now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. The current fiscal
year ends on June 30.
CONTACT:
Mark Meyer
717-787-1377
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