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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Jay Purdy |
State Rep. Flo Fabrizio |
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Fabrizio says grinding out comprehensive state budget will pay off
HARRISBURG, July 17 – The drawn-out battle over the new state budget will prove to have been worth the fight, said state Rep. Flo Fabrizio, D-Erie, today on wrapping up the 2007-08 spending plan for the Commonwealth and accompanying legislation.
“This was, by far, the most demanding budget in my time as a representative,” Fabrizio said. “The daily sessions were the tip of the iceberg. There were countless meetings and negotiations and sessions with research and legal experts. But that’s the job I was sent here to do and I am glad to have played a role in hammering out the final spending plan, and especially that we accomplished it without any new taxes.”
One victory Fabrizio achieved in the budget negotiations was restoration of his proposal to provide $2 million to assist in the creation of technical colleges in areas of the state without ready access to post-secondary technical programs.
Fabrizio introduced the measure as part of Gov. Ed Rendell’s education initiative and said that with the funds in place, he will seek to have Erie be one of the first two locations considered for establishment of a new technical college.
Another aspect of the budget agreement that Fabrizio believes will especially impact Erie residents and all Pennsylvania is the implementation of a portion of the governor’s Prescription for Pennsylvania plan to stem the rising cost of health care. The package would greatly reduce the amount of hospital-acquired infections and increase the number of physician assistants a doctor can supervise. The legislation also expands the ability of nurse practitioners to order in-home health and hospice care for patients and to refer patients to dietitians or to occupation, physical and respiratory therapists.
In education, the budget provides more than $3 million in additional funding for the Erie City School District for basic and special education and the Accountability Block Grant program. Fort LeBoeuf School District will receive an additional $168,278 and the Millcreek School District is slated for an increase of $448,000 in state support.
Additional funding is also included for local transit systems, and road and bridge replacement.
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