Some highlights of what the Governor line-item vetoed include:
- Basic Education Funding – Reduced the Basic Ed Subsidy to $2.5B, which is approximately $3.1 Billion less than what the General Assembly appropriated for our schools.
- Human Services – Eliminated vital lines such as MA Obstetrics and Neonatal Services, MA Critical Access Hospitals and MA Hospital-Based Burn Centers.
- Department of Agriculture – Reduced overall funding of the Department of Agriculture by half ($100 million) and eliminated a significant number of essential agricultural support programs.
- Higher Education – Total elimination of all non-preferred appropriations, such as PSU, Pitt, Temple, Lincoln and University of Pennsylvania’s Veterinary Activities and Center for Infectious Disease.
- Corrections – Reduced state funding to State Correctional Institutions by 50%.
I issued the following statement following the Governor’s decision, which you can read here.
To view the Governor’s press conference or read a transcript of that event, click here.
If you are interested in the specific spending line-items that Governor Wolf reduced or eliminated, you can see that information here.
Finally, to view Governor Wolf’s veto statement, click here.
Clearly we will have to continue to work to resolve the remaining outstanding issues for the 2015-16 state budget. Now that some monies are finally flowing to our schools, human service providers and others who need these critical funds, I am hopeful that the remaining components of our Commonwealth’s annual spending plan can be finalized.
Ryan