Details on $212 Million in 2010-11 Budget Cuts
September 1, 2010
The Rendell administration on Tuesday detailed $212 million in cuts from the 2010-11 state budget as part of a plan to bridge a revenue shortfall. Lawmakers had counted on about $250 million in enhanced federal FMAP funding in the budget that was not approved by Congress last month, creating the shorfall.
The cuts, combined with a projected $70 million from a severance tax on natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale formation, will close the expected revenue gap.
The 2010-11 budget includes language holding the General Assembly to an October 1 deadline to pass a severance tax, although there is no agreement on the structure of the tax. It would go into effect on January 1.
Generally, cuts were made in the following areas:
- $198 million in discretionary appropriations, including a $50 million cut in basic education funding
- $6 million allocated to the Legislature
- $5 million for the courts
- $3 million for independent elected offices
View a spreadsheet detailing all the cuts.
Three-quarters of the $212 million in cuts came in three departments - Education, Public Welfare and Corrections.
The largest individual cut is a $50 million reduction in the state basic education subsidy, which will likely be replaced with a portion of the Education Jobs fund program enacted by Congress last month. In the current budget, state funding for basic education was only restored to 2008-09 levels, with temporary federal recovery dollars filling in the rest.
Below is a table detailing cuts made in the education budget, totaling $69 million in all.
| Education | 2010-11 Enacted Amount | 2010-11 Spending Reduction | 2010-11 Revised Amount |
| General Government Operations | $23,704 | ($450) | $23,254 |
| Information and Technology Improvement | 2,513 | (48) | 2,465 |
| PA Assessment | 32,597 | (619) | 31,978 |
| State Library | 2,232 | (42) | 2,190 |
| Youth Development Centers - Education | 10,605 | (201) | 10,404 |
| Basic Education Funding | 5,121,339 | (50,000) | 5,071,339 |
| Basic Ed Formula Enhancements | 1,984 | (38) | 1,946 |
| Dual Enrollment Payments | 6,959 | (132) | 6,827 |
| School Improvement Grants | 10,797 | (205) | 10,592 |
| Pennsylvania Accountability Grants | 259,456 | (4,930) | 254,526 |
| Pre-K Counts | 85,240 | (1,620) | 83,620 |
| Head Start Supplemental Assistance | 38,384 | (729) | 37,655 |
| Education Assistance Program | 47,606 | (905) | 46,701 |
| Science: Its Elementary | 6,910 | (131) | 6,779 |
| Mobile Science Education Program | 1,600 | (30) | 1,570 |
| Teacher Professional Development | 21,563 | (410) | 21,153 |
| Adult and Family Literacy | 14,887 | (283) | 14,604 |
| Career and Technical Education | 62,000 | 0 | 62,000 |
| Authority Rentals and Sinking Fund Requirements | 314,937 | 0 | 314,937 |
| Pupil Transportation | 533,355 | 0 | 533,355 |
| Nonpublic and Charter School Pupil Transportation | 76,205 | 0 | 76,205 |
| Special Education | 1,026,815 | 0 | 1,026,815 |
| Early Intervention | 182,142 | 0 | 182,142 |
| Tuition for Orphans and Children Placed in Private Homes | 56,729 | 0 | 56,729 |
| Payments in Lieu of Taxes | 188 | 0 | 188 |
| Education of Migrant Laborers' Children | 1,088 | (21) | 1,067 |
| PA Charter Schools for the Deaf and Blind | 39,401 | 0 | 39,401 |
| Special Education - Approved Private Schools | 98,098 | 0 | 98,098 |
| Intermediate Units | 4,761 | (90) | 4,671 |
| School Food Services | 30,063 | (571) | 29,492 |
| Rx for PA - School Food Services | 2,876 | (55) | 2,821 |
| School Employees' Social Security | 551,155 | 0 | 551,155 |
| School Employees' Retirement | 287,562 | 0 | 287,562 |
| School Entity Demonstration Projects | 600 | (11) | 589 |
| High School Reform | 1,762 | (33) | 1,729 |
| Lifelong Learning | 825 | (16) | 809 |
| Services to Nonpublic Schools | 88,352 | (1,679) | 86,673 |
| Textbooks, Materials and Equipment for Nonpublic Schools | 27,020 | (513) | 26,507 |
| Public Library Subsidy | 54,549 | (1,036) | 53,513 |
| Library Services for the Visually Impaired and Disabled | 2,729 | 0 | 2,729 |
| Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic | 69 | (1) | 68 |
| Library Access | 3,000 | 0 | 3,000 |
| Job Training Programs | 3,442 | (65) | 3,377 |
| Reimbursement of Charter Schools | 224,083 | (4,258) | 219,825 |
| Community Colleges | 214,217 | 0 | 214,217 |
| Transfer to Community College Capital Fund | 46,369 | 0 | 46,369 |
| Regional Community Colleges Services | 568 | (11) | 557 |
| Higher Education for the Disadvantaged | 2,410 | (46) | 2,364 |
| Higher Education of Blind or Deaf Students | 50 | (1) | 49 |
| Higher Education Assistance | 1,250 | (24) | 1,226 |
| Community Education Councils | 1,400 | (27) | 1,373 |
| Medical College in NE PA | 3,850 | (73) | 3,777 |
| Education Total | $9,632,296 | ($69,304) | $9,562,992 |
The Department of Public Welfare saw nearly $58 million in cuts.
| Public Welfare | 2010-11 Enacted Amount | 2010-11 Spending Reduction | 2010-11 Revised Amount |
| General Government Operations | $62,434 | ($624) | $61,810 |
| Information Systems | 51,006 | 0 | 51,006 |
| County Administration - Statewide | 38,656 | (387) | 38,269 |
| County Assistance Offices | 269,770 | (1,349) | 268,421 |
| Child Support Enforcement | 14,643 | (146) | 14,497 |
| New Directions | 32,788 | (328) | 32,460 |
| Youth Development Institutions and Forestry Camps | 78,468 | (785) | 77,683 |
| Mental Health Services | 694,865 | (5,440) | 689,425 |
| State Centers for the Mentally Retarded | 77,351 | (774) | 76,577 |
| Cash Grants | 278,175 | (11,000) | 267,175 |
| Supplemental Grants - Aged, Blind and Disabled | 148,450 | 0 | 148,450 |
| Payment to Federal Government-Medicare Drug Program | 196,090 | 0 | 196,090 |
| Medical Assistance - Outpatient | 357,358 | (2,000) | 355,358 |
| Medical Assistance - Inpatient | 266,982 | (1,000) | 265,982 |
| Medical Assistance - Capitation | 2,478,449 | (14,994) | 2,463,455 |
| Medical Assistance - Obstetrics and Neonatal | 4,908 | (93) | 4,815 |
| Medical Assistance - Long-Term Care | 584,081 | 0 | 584,081 |
| MA - Hospital-Based Burn Centers | 5,042 | (96) | 4,946 |
| Medical Assistance - Crirical Access Hospitals | 4,768 | (91) | 4,677 |
| Medical Assistance - Trauma Centers | 11,541 | (219) | 11,322 |
| Medical Assistance - Academic Medical Centers | 19,236 | (365) | 18,871 |
| Medical Assistance - Physician Practice Plans | 9,374 | (178) | 9,196 |
| Medical Assistance - Transportation | 75,300 | 0 | 75,300 |
| Expanded Medical Services for Women | 4,612 | (46) | 4,566 |
| AIDS Special Pharmaceutical Services | 16,267 | 0 | 16,267 |
| Special Pharmaceutical Services | 2,346 | 0 | 2,346 |
| Behavioral Health Services | 53,231 | (1,011) | 52,220 |
| Intermediate Care Facilities - Mentally Retarded | 103,635 | 0 | 103,635 |
| Community Mental Retardation Base Services | 167,102 | (3,175) | 163,927 |
| Community Mental Retardation Waiver Services | 637,474 | 0 | 637,474 |
| Early Intervention | 115,700 | 0 | 115,700 |
| Autism Intervention and Services | 13,136 | (250) | 12,886 |
| MR Residential Services - Lansdowne | 398 | (8) | 390 |
| County Child Welfare | 1,045,607 | (8,867) | 1,036,740 |
| Community Based Family Centers | 6,321 | (63) | 6,258 |
| Child Care Services | 171,720 | 0 | 171,720 |
| Child Care Assistance | 197,053 | (3,744) | 193,309 |
| Nurse Family Partnership | 11,978 | 0 | 11,978 |
| Domestic Violence | 12,385 | (124) | 12,261 |
| Rape Crisis | 7,087 | (71) | 7,016 |
| Breast Cancer Screening | 1,639 | (16) | 1,623 |
| Human Services Development Fund | 23,478 | (235) | 23,243 |
| Legal Services | 3,039 | (30) | 3,009 |
| Homeless Assistance | 22,834 | (228) | 22,606 |
| Services to Persons with Disabilities | 111,463 | 0 | 111,463 |
| Attendant Care | 106,203 | 0 | 106,203 |
| Medical Assistance - Workers with Disabilities | 1,600 | 0 | 1,600 |
| Facilities and Service Enhancements | 2,700 | (51) | 2,649 |
| Acute Care Hospitals | 6,000 | (114) | 5,886 |
| Health Care Clinics | 2,500 | (48) | 2,452 |
| Public Welfare Total | $8,607,243 | ($57,950) | $8,549,293 |
And the Department of Corrections saw $32 million in cuts.
| Corrections | 2010-11 Enacted Amount | 2010-11 Spending Reduction | 2010-11 Revised Amount |
| General Government Operations | $30,547 | ($580) | $29,967 |
| Inmate Medical Care | 243,493 | (4,626) | 238,867 |
| Inmate Education and Training | 41,398 | (787) | 40,611 |
| State Correctional Institutions | 1,378,518 | (26,192) | 1,352,326 |
| Corrections Total | $1,693,956 | ($32,185) | $1,661,771 |
