Senate Amends House Budget Bill to Look Like SB 850

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July 21, 2009

Update: On Tuesday, July 21, the state House of Representatives voted to non-concur in the Senate's amended budget bill that called for $2 billion in cuts to the House plan. As a result, the House and Senate plan to appoint a six-member bipartisan conference committee to craft a compromise budget bill.

The pace is picking up in Harrisburg, where the state House of Representatives and Senate have passed different versions of a state budget for the 2009-10 Fiscal Year.

On Monday night, the Senate adopted an amended version of the House-passed budget bill, House Bill 1416. It reduces total state spending to $24.4 billion.

The original version of House Bill 1416, passed by the House on Friday, allocates $26.7 billion in state dollars to the General Fund and the newly proposed Higher Education Fund, about $300 million more than the Governor's revised budget proposal of $26.4 billion in state spending.

The House vote on that legislation came a day after House Democrats and Republican Rep. Dennis O'Brien of Philadelphia voted to defeat an amendment crafted by the House Republican Caucus (the Civera amendment), which would have allocated $24.7 billion in state funding.
 
The next day, the House approved House Bill 1416 on a vote of 104-95, with Republican Reps. Robert Godshall of Montgomery County, Nick Micozzie of Delaware County and O'Brien joining all but two Democrats to vote for it. Westmoreland County Democratic Reps. John Pallone and Joseph Petrarca voted with Republican members against the bill.
 
House Bill 1416 would have restored most but not all of the cuts proposed in Senate Bill 850 and is funded through existing tax revenue, transfers from the Rainy Day Fund and other reserves, reallocation of a portion of the cigarette tax, and one-time revenue sources.
 
It also called for $1.3 billion in funding for many higher education institutions, including the State System of Higher Education, Community Colleges and PHEAA, to be moved from the General Fund to a newly created Higher Education Fund.  The revenue source for this new fund was not yet determined.

Read PBPC's analysis of House Bill 1416, comparing the plan to the Governor's budget proposal and the Civera amendment.

SENATE AMENDS HB 1416 TO LOOK LIKE SB 850 WITH DEEP CUTS TO SERVICES

The Senate amended bill, once again before the House, makes deeper cuts than the Civera amendment proposed and is very similar to Senate Bill 850, a budget bill with deep cuts that would impact millions of Pennsylvania children, senior citizens, vulnerable people and working families. The Senate also has proposed to use a variety of one-time revenue sources to close a $1.7 billion shortfall left over from the now-ended 2008-09 Fiscal Year.

The latest Senate plan, like Senate Bill 850, includes:

  • Flat-funding of basic education at 2008-09 levels. Governor Rendell had proposed a $418 million increase in basic education funding as part of the adequacy funding formula. The Senate plan also cuts nearly $730 million in state aid for basic education, backfilling it with stimulus funds.
  • 50% cuts to Pre-K Counts, Head Start, and local libraries.
  • Funding reductions for child care programs, reducing the number of available slots by more than 5,000.
  • Flat-funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (skipping a nearly $8 million increase proposed by Governor Rendell to add 12,000 children to the program at a time when demand is expected to increase).
  • The elimination of funding for the Governor's Office of Health Care Reform and related health care reform programs.
  • The elimination of funding for workforce development and training activities.
  • The elimination of funding for legal aid services (in high demand as more people deal with mortgage foreclosures).
  • The elimination of funding for non-state-owned museums.
  • Reductions to several other areas, including county services, emergency mortgage assistance, programs for Pennsylvanians living with disabilities, vocational training and several other areas.

The Senate-amended version of House Bill 1416 differs somewhat from Senate Bill 850, including the following:

  • Increases funding for agricultural programs by $5.4 million over Senate Bill 850 ($59.3 million to $64.6 million).
  • Cuts an additional $2.4 million below Senate Bill 850's allocation for the Department of Community and Economic Development ($192.9 million to $190.5 million).
  • Eliminates the proposed Office of Aging and Long-Term Living. The Senate plan transfer $600.9 million in state funding for long-term care, services to persons with disabilities and attendant care back to the Department of Public Welfare.
  • Increases $121.3 million in Medicaid Outpatient Capitation Payments over Senate Bill 850 ($2.4 billion to $2.5 billion).
  • Restores $5 million in obstetric and neonatal services under Medical Assistance, which had been eliminated in Senate Bill 850.
  • Increases funding for veterans homes by $4.6 million over Senate Bill 850 ($69.8 million to $74.4 million).
  • Cuts $3.1 million for the State Police's Municipal Police Training Program below Senate Bill 850's allocation ($4.1 million to $1 million).
  • Cuts $4.8 million in funding for the Legislature from Senate Bill 850's appropriation ($293 million to $288.2 million).

The Senate approved the amendment to House Bill 1416 and passed the amended bill on a vote of 31-19, with Democratic Sen. Lisa Boscola of Lehigh County voting with Senate Republicans in favor of the plan.