| Government Affairs Update |
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State Appropriations
On July 16 the Pennsylvania House (by a vote of 181-22) and Senate (46-2) gave final approval to Senate Bill 934, Penn’s FY 2007-08 non-preferred Commonwealth appropriation bill. The bill was signed into law by Governor Rendell on July 17 as Act 15A of 2007. SB 934 provides a total of $49,674,000 to the University, a 0.5% increase over last fiscal year (see chart below). With the exception of the University Museum, all line items (Veterinary School, Vet School Infectious Disease, Medical School, Cardiovascular Studies, and Dental Clinics) were approved for a 0.5% increase, the level which had been proposed by the Governor. The University Museum’s funding was restored to last year’s funding level (the Governor had proposed a 9% cut). Other than the funding restoration for the Museum, the General Assembly made no modifications to the Governor’s recommendations for any of the private state aided institutions.
The General Assembly also approved House Bill 1286, the General Fund appropriation bill for the Commonwealth. HB 1286 includes $600,000 in funding for Penn’s Cancer Center, the same amount of funding as last year.
HB 1286 also included the restoration of the Governor’s proposed 25% cuts to the Community Access Fund and the Tobacco Settlement uncompensated care program. These two programs provide supplemental payments to hospitals with high volumes of care to the uninsured. If not restored, these cuts would have had an estimated annual impact of $3 million to the hospitals in Penn’s Health System.
—Paul Cribbins, Assistant Vice President for Commonwealth Relations
University of Pennsylvania Non-Preferred Appropriation
(in thousands of dollars) |
|
FY 2003
Actual |
FY 2004
Actual |
FY 2005
Actual |
FY 2006
Actual |
FY 2007
Actual |
FY 2008
Gov. Rec. |
FY 2008
(% Inc.) |
FY 2008
SB 934 |
FY 2008
(% Inc.) |
Medical Instruction |
3,953 |
3,832 |
3,861 |
3,919 |
4,037 |
4,057 |
0.5 |
4,057 |
0.5 |
Dental Clinics |
873 |
846 |
1,035 |
1,051 |
1,083 |
1,088 |
0.5 |
1,088 |
0.5 |
Cardiovascular Studies |
1,568 |
1,520 |
1,531 |
1,554 |
1,601 |
1,609 |
0.5 |
1,609 |
0.5 |
Veterinary School |
37,676 |
36,523 |
37,364 |
38,111 |
39,254 |
39,450 |
0.5 |
39,450 |
0.5 |
Center for Infectious Disease (Vet) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3,200 |
3,216 |
0.5 |
3,216 |
0.5 |
University Museum* |
231 |
225 |
231 |
231 |
254 |
231 |
-9.1 |
254 |
0.0 |
Total University |
44,301 |
42,946 |
44,022 |
44,866 |
49,429 |
49,651 |
0.5 |
49,674 |
0.5 |
* University Museum budget request submitted through separate submission to Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC).
8/20/2007 |
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