Library Funding Update

I was glad to see that SB 850 was voted down (it would have cut state funding of public libraries by over 50%), but disappointed that it was a party-line vote with Republicans in favor the cuts.

Again, forwarded from the Nazareth Library from the state library association, the following update:

Now what? Well, the June 30 deadline is approaching. Senate Republicans have said that they will not negotiate a final plan until the House puts forward and passes a budget. Meanwhile, Governor Rendell is expected to announce sometime soon a revised budget plan that will include approximately $400 million more in programs cuts. This is necessary because the recession continues to decrease the pace of tax collections for state coffers. Right now, most observers believe that the budget shortfall going into the next budget will be a little more than $3 billion out of a budget that totals roughly $28 billion.

So after the Governor reveals his revised plan, the battle lines will be drawn. S.B. 850 which already passed the Senate, will stand as one marker representing a budget solution that relies almost exclusively on cuts to existing state programs. Most likely the other marker will be the new plan that Governor Rendell will unveil. That plan will include deeper cuts than he requested back in February as well as some tax increases, use of the state’s Rainy Day Fund, and aggressive use of federal stimulus dollars.