A look at the losers in Corbett's budget

BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK (Times-Shamrock Writer)
Published: February 8, 2012

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In a budget that cuts overall spending for the second year in a row, the list of losers in Gov. Tom Corbett's second proposed spending plan is long.

Higher education takes the biggest hit with cuts of 20 percent for state universities like East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg and up to 30 percent for Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University. But public education and social services take further hits, too.

The governor proposes cutting administrative costs by 2 percent, and a total of 33 appropriation line items are eliminated, cutting $33 million in annual spending, according to a state budget-related document. Another 164 appropriations are reduced. About 650 state jobs are eliminated, though no layoffs are anticipated.

In agriculture, the budget proposes eliminating funding for farming research, promotion, education, exports, hardwoods research, livestock and dairy shows and food marketing and research.

In community and economic development, funding was eliminated for emergency homeowners mortgage help.

In education, Corbett eliminated accountability block grants that were used for full-day kindergarten, school nutrition incentives and job training programs. School districts' basic funding stays roughly level because most of the increase is to cover increased pension payments.

In environmental protection, the budget kills a program that paid sewer treatment plant operators for planning.

In health, the budget eliminated funding for bio-technology research, epilepsy support services, lupus and Tourette's syndrome treatment, diabetes programs, regional poison control centers and rail freight assistance.

The spending reductions include:

- 16 percent in funding for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, mostly by eliminating grants for parks and recreation and land trusts.

- 10 percent less for state-related medical centers such as the Commonwealth Medical College.

- 6.7 percent less for veterans' homes, including eliminating 67 positions.

- 5 percent less each for juvenile probation services, libraries, library services for the visually impaired and disabled, pre-kindergarten education, adult and family literacy and textbook, materials and equipment for non-public schools.

- 3 percent less for local drug task forces.

- 3.8 percent less for community colleges such as Luzerne County Community College.

- 10.9 percent less for the Department of Environmental Protection, most of it in cuts in unspecified administrative costs.

- 23.3 percent less for regional cancer institutes such as the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute in Scranton.

- 8 percent less for county fairs.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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