Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Delivers 2006-07 Budget Focused on PA's Future, Investments in Children, Job Creation, Global Competitiveness, Protectin11 February 2006
Governor Edward G. Rendell today proposed a Fiscal Year 2006-07 budget that looks to the future by making investments that protect and care for the state's children and other vulnerable residents, as well as providing more support for job growth and making Pennsylvania more competitive in world markets. The Governor's $25.4 billion budget contains no new taxes and increases spending by only 3.8 percent over 2005-06.
The Governor said his $25.4 billion spending plan represents diligent work over the past three years to cut the cost of operating government so that Pennsylvania can make the critical investments needed to serve its citizens and prepare for the future. By the end of this calendar year, the Rendell administration will have cut $1 billion in waste from state government.
In his address to a joint session of the Legislature, Governor Rendell said: "Our work together has paid great dividends, and we are becoming a leader among states. Today I propose to continue this momentum."
The Governor's budget includes an increase of more than $828 million to fund critical programs for children and young adults, protecting them and preparing them for the 21st century.
The Governor proposed:
-- Pennsylvania Cares -- Enhancing the state's ability to care for
Pennsylvanians in need - children, seniors and others who need a
helping hand.
-- Pennsylvania Competes -- Major new investments to make the
commonwealth more competitive than ever before - from the state's
leadership in medical research, to opening up new world trade
opportunities, to strengthening the skills of the state's workforce.
"Today I am announcing investments that will continue to move this state forward. They will put the commonwealth on the cutting edge of health care, education and economic development improvements. They will make Pennsylvania more competitive and a better place to live and work, and they are specifically geared to focus on the progress of our young people as we prepare them to take their place in the 21st century economy," Governor Rendell said.
"What I have proposed today is bold and far-reaching. It is necessary and vital for our future. And the good news is that it is affordable.
"As Governor, I have pushed hard for the changes we sought in our economy, our public schools, and even state government itself. I believe that when it comes to building a better Pennsylvania, there is no time to waste. We are competing against other states and countries around the globe that want the very same levels of investment, jobs and opportunity that we seek as well."
The Governor added that his 2006-07 budget proposes an increase in spending of 3.8 percent compared to the current year's budget. In the aggregate, all department costs, other than those for welfare, education and debt service, are actually decreased in this budget by 2.5 percent when compared to the current year. At the same time, the 2006-07 budget improves many vital state services.
The Governor's budget:
-- Holds the line on government and administrative spending - zero
increase;
-- Has no new taxes or tax increases; and,
-- Re-invests savings realized through innovation and increased
efficiency by eliminating waste and improving government operations.
The Governor paid tribute to Coretta Scott King, who died last week, and cited a comment by her late husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that man is "measured by where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
"When it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, this sage advice should guide how we, who lead relatively comfortable and easy lives, respond to the budgetary challenges of the continuing brutal trend by the federal government to reduce its support for programs to help the needy," Governor Rendell said.
"We have continued to use the right measuring stick: a ruler that is marked to ensure we do not diminish - and where possible we try to improve - the quality of life for those who face struggles most of us cannot even imagine. We have chosen to continue to be the lifeline against the rising tide of poverty, illness and disease that threatens to overwhelm them."
Pennsylvania Cares
To care for Pennsylvanians, Governor Rendell proposed a number of funding increases and new initiatives, including Cover All Kids, a program to provide access to affordable and comprehensive health care coverage for uninsured children.
The Governor's Pennsylvania Cares initiative includes:
-- Cover All Kids - Inaugural year of the plan. First-year costs will
be $4.4 million in state funds and $10.2 million in federal funds for
15,000 children;
-- PACE Plus Medicare - $244.8 million to fund a comprehensive state
pharmaceutical benefit that complements Medicare Part D and ensures
that PACE enrollees will not incur an increase in out-of-pocket
costs; will enable an additional 120,000 people to be served by PACE
by June 2007;
-- Medical Assistance - $14.2 billion in combined state and federal
funds to provide services to 1.9 million people with no reduction in
eligibility requirements. Includes statewide expansion of Behavioral
Health MA Managed Care;
-- Child Care - $663.4 million in combined state and federal funds, an
increase of $112.3 million or 20 percent, to expand services to
17,000 more children, increase the investment in Keystone STARS to
improve the quality of early learning experiences, provide for a two
percent cost-of-living adjustment, and maintain current programs;
-- Community Mental Retardation - $1.5 billion in combined state and
federal funds, an increase of $90.9 million or 6.3 percent, including
funds to provide home- and community-based services to 806 more
people, address new federal Medicaid requirements, and provide for a
2 percent cost-of-living adjustment;
-- Expanding Services for the Disabled - $297.2 million in combined
state and federal funds, an increase of $57.7 million, or 24 percent,
including funds to enable 1,500 more individuals to remain in their
own homes as an alternative to nursing home care, and provide for a 2
percent cost-of-living adjustment; and,
-- Long-Term Living - $4.2 billion in combined state and federal funds
to provide nursing home and home- and community-based services.
Includes funding for 2,800 additional seniors to remain in their
homes as an alternative to nursing home care.
"Cover All Kids will expand our CHIP program and give parents the ability to take children to the doctor, to get prescriptions filled and to tend to their ongoing medical needs," Governor Rendell said.
"How we care for our children speaks volumes about our society. I cannot imagine the anguish that tens of thousands of parents, who cannot afford health insurance for their children, must face on a daily basis. The failure to provide health insurance for every child forces parents to make impossible choices. Cover All Kids is affordable to the commonwealth and affordable to working parents. It is the right thing to do for our families, for their children, and for our collective future."
To assist and expand the state's commitment to seniors, Governor Rendell proposed enacting PACE Plus Medicare, which "will save our seniors thousands of dollars a year in prescription drug costs, and ensure that PACE beneficiaries keep the same level of coverage they have enjoyed for nearly 22 years.
"Under PACE Plus, no low-income senior will have to make the choice of whether to stay warm or stay well. PACE Plus will close the doughnut hole and cover the gap in federal coverage for them. With PACE Plus, Pennsylvania will continue to be the national leader with respect to prescription coverage for seniors. Our PACE Plus package is by far the most generous and comprehensive supplement to the federal program in the nation.
"And best of all, due to the good work of the Departments of Public Welfare and Aging, we will be able to add 120,000 seniors to the PACE program, bringing the number of seniors we help to 430,000 - almost double the 220,000 who were enrolled in PACE the day I became Governor."
The Governor also said his budget includes additional resources for those suffering with HIV and AIDS and for the first time funds preventive screenings for breast and cervical cancer for high-risk women ages 40 to 49 who lack insurance.
Investing in the Future
To make sure that Pennsylvania's children are prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century, Governor Rendell proposes an unprecedented $601 million increase in total education spending.
"Of all the investments that we are announcing today, I am proudest of those that we will make to enhance the academic achievement of Pennsylvania's students," the Governor said.
"Our funding for early childhood, elementary and secondary education has increased by nearly $1.2 billion since 2002. Our students are already demonstrating a great return on this investment: by every measure, student achievement is dramatically on the rise. The number of fifth graders meeting state standards in math has increased from 53 percent to 69 percent since 2002, with the number of fifth graders meeting the state reading standards rising from 57 percent to 64 percent during the same period. And national test results released late last year found that Pennsylvania is one of only seven states in the nation to make significant progress in reading and math. The impacts of the investments we have made together are indisputable.
"This budget takes our work to improve what happens in schools to the next level with a new range of investments designed to encourage the development of the next generation of scientists, inventors, and great thinkers right here at home," Governor Rendell said.
The Governor also proposed two new programs - Science: It's Elementary and Classrooms for the Future - to upgrade science curriculum and to put a laptop computer on the desk in every high school classroom used to teach the four core subjects.
"Pennsylvania can take our high schools to the next level, but only if we act now to begin the broad deployment of these technologies.
"No one can seriously dispute that our high schools need to be transformed to teach in ways that use technology - our teachers stand before the 'technology generation' and rely on blackboards and, at best, two-year-old textbooks, while their students' brains and approach to the world are hardwired to technology. Over the next three years we can leapfrog from 19th-century classrooms to 21st-century high schools - a jump that is long overdue."
Among the Governor's proposals are:
-- PreK-12 Education - $8.6 billion in total, a $517 million (6.4
percent) increase;
-- Basic Education Funding - $4.7 billion in total, a nearly $225
million (5 percent) increase to support PreK-12 education and assist
all school districts in boosting spending toward the statewide
foundation level;
-- Special Education Funding - $991 million in total, a $38.1 million (4
percent) increase;
-- Accountability Block Grants - $250 million in total, a $50 million
(25 percent) increase. Nearly 80,000 students are benefiting from
pre-kindergarten, full-day kindergarten, reduced class sizes and
tutoring as a result of 2005-06 Block Grant funding;
-- Science: It's Elementary - $10 million, for a new program to provide
hands-on learning equipment and intensive teacher training to
elementary schools that commit to upgrading their science curriculum;
-- Classrooms for the Future - $20 million, for a new multi-year program
to place Internet-equipped laptop computers on each student desk in
mathematics, science, English and history high school classrooms and
provide multi-media technology for teachers;
-- Public Library Subsidy - $75.5 million, a $14.1 million increase.
This is the largest amount ever appropriated by the commonwealth in
support of public libraries;
-- Higher Education Programs - Nearly $2 billion in total, a 3.7 percent
increase;
-- Community Colleges - A $12.6 million, or 5 percent, increase,
including capital funding;
-- New Economy Technology Scholarship Program - $3.7 million increase to
provide grants to 500 more college students and raise the maximum
annual grant to $4,000;
-- Dual Enrollment - $7 million, a $2 million increase, to help high
school students earn college credit while they complete their high
school graduation requirements;
-- Project 720 - a total of $9 million to transform Pennsylvania's high
schools; and,
-- Head Start - $45 million, a $15 million increase for Head Start
pre-kindergarten classrooms, to serve a total of 6,250 children.
"These are the types of investments that will help our students compete in the world economy," the Governor added.
Pennsylvania Competes
The Governor also noted that the state's economy is on the move - "jobs are up, unemployment is down." He said Pennsylvania is taking aggressive steps to help create new jobs and improve the competitiveness of businesses and help them to be successful in the global marketplace.
Among the competitiveness steps the Governor has proposed are:
-- Jonas Salk Legacy Fund: Accelerating Medical Research in Pennsylvania
- $500 million of accelerated investments, which will leverage
another $500 million in matching funds, to promote biomedical
research in Pennsylvania;
-- World Trade PA - $15 million to expand and promote the PA export
network in key markets, encourage greater foreign investment in PA,
and develop an operations center to provide critical export
information to businesses;
-- Business and Job Development - $10 million in multi-year grants for
new infrastructure and facility improvement projects;
-- Nursing Initiative - $10 million to address the state nursing
shortage through the expansion of clinical education opportunities
and nursing student retention activities;
-- Highways and Bridges - $130 million of additional new investment in
smoother roads and safer bridges;
-- Growing Greener II - 2006-07 marks the second year of this landmark
$625 million environmental initiative;
-- Business Tax Cuts to Improve PA's Ability to Compete for Jobs and
Investments - Over $221 million in business tax reduction in 2006-07,
for a cumulative total of nearly $1 billion during the Rendell
Administration;
-- Net Operating Loss Carry-Forward - $7.3 million, by increasing the
per business cap from $2 million to $3 million;
-- Research and Development Tax Credit - $40 million, an increase of $10
million over 2005-06 and $25 million over 2002-03; and,
-- Capital Stock and Franchise Tax - Accelerate the phase-out by
one-tenth of a mill ($18.3 million) to lower the rate to 4.89 mills,
a total reduction of $204 million compared to 2005-06
The Governor said, "I could share with you over 600 examples of companies that over the last three years have either changed their mind about closing, decided to stay instead of leave, expanded operations, or moved to Pennsylvania as a result of the Economic Stimulus and the other business attraction efforts that we have developed together.
"Three years ago, Pennsylvania was at a crossroads. Together we sped up the work of cleaning up our rivers and streams and preserving our farmland by the passage of Growing Greener II. We laid the foundation for Pennsylvania to take the lead in America's clean coal and alternative fuels economy by your passage of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. We christened the Pennsylvania Wilds and celebrated Route Six and in this budget we provide the resources to respond to the increasing demand from tourists and Pennsylvanians who want to visit our state parks.
"Pennsylvania has a newfound sense of momentum and hope. By any measure, we have been busy bringing the future to Pennsylvania. But make no mistake, what I propose in this budget occurs in a context of federal cuts and actions that make it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of our citizens."
The Governor also called upon the Legislature to take care of unfinished business, including passing legislation helping veterans and members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and dealing with property tax reform and increasing the state's minimum wage.
"I ask you to pass a property tax relief bill that I can sign before the end of this month so that Pennsylvanians will know, once and for all, that property tax relief is certain.
"The road we have chosen to take over these past three years - the road of hard work and investment in our future - has made a real difference. It's a road we share as Pennsylvanians first and politicians second. It's a road that will have bumps to navigate and some hills for us to climb - but because we are all Pennsylvanians we will climb them together. But no matter the conditions, keep in mind that it is the road we must travel together: the road to a New Pennsylvania," Governor Rendell said.
The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://www.governor.state.pa.us.
CONTACT: Kate Philips of the Pennsylvania Office of the Governor, +1-717-783-1116.
Source: prnewswire
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