The Pennsylvania House sent their state budget proposal to the Senate on May 24th. The proposal includes separate Ag Research and Ag Extension line items to be included in the Penn State appropriation bill with funding levels at 25% less than the 2010/2011 funding level.
Majority Chair of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, John Maher, authored an amendment to separate and fully restore the Ag Research and Ag Extension lines items, but the budget process resulted in most amendments being pulled before consideration.
Majority Chair of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, John Maher, authored an amendment to separate and fully restore the Ag Research and Ag Extension lines items, but the budget process resulted in most amendments being pulled before consideration.
On the Senate side, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Jake Corman, has introduced the Penn State appropriations bill (SB1122), restoring funding to 85% of last year's funding level. The agricultural research and extension lines are not included in the bill, as Senator Corman is still working on a proposal to restore the lines to 90% of last year's funding and shift the location of the lines into the state Department of Agriculture. Click here for more information.
Please continue to communicate your support and appreciation of these efforts to your legislators. It is expected the legislature will act on the budget before end of the fiscal year on June 30th.
