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Senate Approves $22.8 Billion Budget for 2004-05
Spending Plan is "Good for Pennsylvania, Good for Education"
HARRISBURG -- The
Senate today signed off on a compromise $22.8 billion budget package for Fiscal
Year 2004-05 that includes substantial increases in education funding, provides
a 2 percent COLA for mental health and drug and alcohol services, and allocates
more money for libraries, mass transit and approved private schools, according
to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert J. Thompson, R-19th District.
The package does not include Governor Ed Rendell’s
Growing Greener II proposal, but lawmakers have committed to working towards
including some of those environmental programs as part of next year’s budget,
Senator Thompson said.
“This budget is the result of intense negotiations
and we have developed a final package that is good for Pennsylvania and good for
education,” Senator Thompson said. “Fortunately, Fiscal Year 2003-04 was a
good one in Pennsylvania, with revenues coming in $637 million over projections.
This budget provides fiscally responsible increases in spending for programs and
services that will provide real and long-term benefits to Pennsylvania’s
families.”
The keystone of the package is House Bill 2579, the
$22.8 billion spending plan.
“This budget includes an increase of 4.3 percent in
spending while holding the line on taxes,” Senator Thompson said. “This is
a responsible and affordable budget that addresses basic needs without imposing
any additional tax burdens on families or business.”
The most significant spending increases are in the
education budget. HB 2579 includes a $150.4 million increase (3.6 percent) in
basic education for a proposed total of $4.36 billion. Special education
subsidies would increase by $24.5 million (2.7 percent) to $929 million in FY
2004-05.
HB 2579 set funding for Pennsylvania Accountability
Grants at $200 million for FY 2004-05, a $25 million increase over the $175
million level agreed to by the Administration and General Assembly as part of
the 2003-04 budget agreement.
“This budget improves academic opportunities for
Pennsylvania’s children by increasing funding for basic and special education to
levels above what the Governor requested. If you factor those increases
and the $200 million in Pennsylvania Accountability Grants, new state funding
for education for 2004-05 will be 7.2 percent,” Senator Thompson said.
Every Pennsylvania school district would be
guaranteed a minimum 2 percent increase in basic and special education funding
under the Senate-amended version of HB 2579. The Governor’s original
budget request included a 1.5 percent minimum increase in state funding to
schools.
The amended budget also adds $5.3 million in funding
to Pennsylvania’s libraries on top of the $4.7 million requested by the
Governor, Senator Thompson added. The Senate also added $23 million to
help resolve funding problems in state payments to Approved Private Schools.
“It is essential that we act to provide these
payments to the APS that have completed the audit process,” said Senator
Thompson, a leader in the effort to include the funding in the budget.
“These schools provide valuable services to Pennsylvania’s families with special
needs children and the current funding impasse regarding the APS is putting that
care at risk.”
The budget package also adds 90 troopers to the
Pennsylvania State Police, with one third of the funding ($2.3 million) coming
from the general fund and two-thirds ($4.9 million) coming from the Motor
License Fund.
Responding to concerns raised by social services
professionals, lawmakers and the administration agreed to include $36 million in
the 2004-05 budget to provide a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment for mental
health/metal retardation and drug and alcohol treatment programs, Senator
Thompson said.
The budget also provides an additional $8.5 million
for mass transit services, addressing a funding problem that has some public
transportation providers considering reducing routes or raising fares. The
budget also restores $3 million in federal Access to Jobs funding, a key support
program for people moving off of welfare and into the workforce.
The budget package does not include the Growing
Greener II proposal, but lawmakers will study ways to implement some of those
programs as part of the Fiscal Year 2005-06 budget, Senator Thompson said.
“We still have the original menu of Growing Greener
programs in place. That has not changed. There is also a strong
interest in moving forward in some of the additional proposals, particularly the
open space preservation components, as well,” Senator Thompson said. “Part
of this is a procedural matter. It makes more sense to take a referendum
to the voters in the spring and see if there is a willingness on the part of the
public to incur the debt before we put the money in the budget. I am hopeful
that we will see legislative action in this area later this year.”
The budget package also added funding for two
agricultural programs.
The crop insurance account, which was targeted for a
50 percent reduction in the Governor’s proposal, will receive an additional $1
million to bring it back up to the current funding level. T he Plum Pox
eradication program, which was eliminated in the Governor’s proposal will
receive $500,000, Senator Thompson said.
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Sen. Don White:
Sen. Rob
Wonderling:
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