Mar. 23, 2016
HARRISBURG—Rep. Warren Kampf (R-Montgomery/Chester) thanks Gov. Tom Wolf for his decision to allow the supplemental budget recently passed by the General Assembly, which would increase funds to schools without raising taxes, to become law without his signature. House Bill 1801 would fund state services through June 30, including portions of the budget vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf in December.
“The governor did the right thing in allowing funds to begin flowing to our schools and institutions of higher learning,” Kampf said. “The legislation we passed adds $200 million in new money for basic education and the Ready-To-Learn Block Grant program. We also funded higher education to avoid layoffs at these institutions.”
The March Supplemental Budget completes the 2015-16 budget by providing an $872.6 million increase over the 2014-15 budget, yet spends within available revenues without relying on new taxes.
While
House Bill 1460, parts of which Wolf vetoed back in December, provided record funding for Pennsylvania schools.
House Bill 1801 further grows that investment. The Basic Education Funding line item will see $5.93 billion in funding, an increase of $200 million over 2014-15 when including the Ready-To-Learn Block Grant.
While the governor’s December vetoes cut tens-of-millions in funding for higher education, House Bill 1801 reverses those vetoes for community colleges and the State System of Higher Education. It also fully funds Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University. It provides a minimum 5 percent increase in funding for these institutions over what was provided in 2014-15.
Wolf’s decision will allow funding to flow to critical access hospitals, hospital-based burn centers and child advocacy centers. The supplemental legislation restores those funds.
“Now we must begin the work on passing the 2016-17 budget,” Kampf said.
Representative Warren Kampf
157th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
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