Government Affairs Update |
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July 16, 2013,
Volume 60, No.1 |
Penn’s Commonwealth Appropriations for FY 2013-2014
On July 1, 2013, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (vote of 197-6) and the Senate (50-0) approved the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine non-preferred Commonwealth appropriation bill (Senate Bill 729) for FY 2013-2014. The legislation provides $28,261,000 for the School of Veterinary Medicine, an increase over the Governor’s February budget proposal. The proposal had the support of virtually every major agricultural organization in Pennsylvania in recognition of the school’s contribution to agriculture in the Commonwealth.
Appropriations for Community Colleges and the State System of Higher Education were funded at the FY 2012-2013 level while Pitt, Penn State and Lincoln University received modest increases in funding.
The General Assembly also passed, and the Governor signed, House Bill 1437, the FY 2013-2014 General Fund Budget for the Commonwealth. House Bill 1437 maintains funding for the Commonwealth Universal Research and Education (CURE) program. Penn receives $8-10 million annually from the fund. House Bill 1437 also included funding from the Department of Public Welfare for the School of Nursing Living Independently for the Elderly Program (LIFE) and the Physician Practice Plan which provides funding to the School of Medicine and the Dental School.
Finally, the Partners for Regional Economic Progress (PREP) line-item in the Department of Community Economic Development budget was maintained at the 2012-2013 level. PREP funds Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers, a group of university-based business assistance centers that include the Wharton Small Business Development Center.
—Jeffrey Cooper, Vice President, Government and Community Affairs
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