Senate Approves Final 2008-09 Budget Bill

Spending kept below rate of inflation

The Senate today approved a state budget for Fiscal Year 2008-09 that holds the line on state spending while ensuring the continuation of essential services and programs, according to Senator Bob Robbins, (R-50), who voted for the proposal.

Senate Bill 1389 calls for $28.2 billion in general fund spending, which is nearly $150 million less than the $28.35 billion in spending proposed by the Administration. Overall, the 3.98 percent increase in spending from FY 2007-08 is below the 4.4 percent rate of inflation and represents a significant reduction from the 4.2 percent increase proposed by the Administration.

"The truth is not everyone is going to be happy with this budget, but I believe we did the best we could with what we had available. Certainly the key was to hold the line in spending," Senator Robbins said. "With the economic conditions in Pennsylvania they way that they are now, we have to look down the road and tighten our spending accordingly. We need only look at last year, when we rejected all seven of the Governor's proposed tax increases. We were better able to hold the line this year because of that and that put us in a much better financial position than many of our neighboring states."

While spending is reduced across the board in this budget, including a 1.3 percent reduction for the Legislature and the Judiciary, Senate Republicans successfully fought to restore state support for essential services and programs such as neonatal hospitals, burn centers, critical care access hospitals, according to Senator Robbins.

In addition, the budget not only restored funding for Science in Motion, a program strongly supported by Senator Robbins, but gave it a $162,000 increase in funding from FY 2007-08 to a total of $2.7 million. The Governor had proposed cutting state funding for the program which partners colleges and school districts to promote science and math education.

One of the key elements in the FY 2008-09 budget is a more equitable proposal for funding basic education in Pennsylvania, including an overall 5.5 percent increase ($274.7 million) in basic education funding to a total of $5.2 billion. More than 100 of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts would have seen a minimal increase of 1.5 percent in their basic education subsidies under the Administration's proposal. Senate Republicans pushed for the current plan which ensures that every school district in Pennsylvania receive a minimum 3 percent increase in its basic education subsidy – providing increased support for 238 districts.

"I am very pleased with the education budget and the significant increases for several school districts in my area," Senator Robbins said. "Many would have only seen a 1.5 percent increase in their state subsidy for basic education under the Governor's proposed budget. Those districts, their students and their taxpayers, all benefit from our proposal which ensured that all school districts receive at least a 3 percent increase."

The budget provides for borrowing to make prudent investments in public infrastructure, such as bridges, dams and water and sewer projects. In particular, $350 million is set aside to make critical improvements to 400 bridges across the state. In addition, the voters will have the opportunity to participate in a referendum that would invest $400 million in new water and sewer projects across the Commonwealth.

"It is essential that we make these investments in our infrastructure," Senator Robbins said. "These improvements will not only better the quality of life of residents in many communities, but they should also provide long-term benefits by stimulating our economy."

Contact:

Michael Hengst
(717) 787-1322