PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives this week passed House Bill 612, a critical legislation that ensures the provision of substantial investments to state-related universities. This move, championed by House Democrats, aims to ensure affordable higher education for more than 70,000 students across Pennsylvania.
The legislation, approved on October 31, 2023, with a vote of 145-57, not only provides for funding for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, but also imposes recordkeeping requirements and a duty on the Auditor General. Furthermore, it mandates the production of financial statements and provisions for the Agricultural College Land Scrip Fund.
In terms of specific allocations, House Bill 612 provides a 7% increase in funding to Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University. Lincoln University, on the other hand, will see a generous 25% increase in funding. The legislation also freezes tuition increases at these universities for the 2024-25 academic year.
Alongside this significant bill, the House passed another piece of legislation aimed at increasing transparency among state-related universities. This supplementary bill makes these universities subject to certain provisions of the state’s Right to Know Law.
Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery, expressed his satisfaction with the passing of the bill: “House Democrats have worked tirelessly to provide our world-class state-related universities with critical state budget investments to ensure that tuition for students remains affordable.”
Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Phila/Delaware, echoed Bradford’s sentiments: “By blocking this funding, Republicans put our students, universities, and communities at risk, but I’m proud that today we secured funding for these schools and a tuition freeze for students.”
Majority Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris further emphasized the importance of making higher education accessible to all Pennsylvania students: “We have fought the opposition because we believe that every student who chooses higher education in our state should have the option to do so affordably, right here in our state.”
The passing of House Bill 612 marks a significant step towards prioritizing affordable and high-quality education for Pennsylvanian students. It is now up to the Senate to take up this bill and continue the work started by the House Democrats.
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