PCPA’s 2007/08 state budget position is now available. Members should include components of the position (as appropriate for individual organizations) into discussions with legislators, staffers, and administration officials. Special thanks to PCPA’s Legislative Affairs Committee for its hard work and recommendations for the development of the budget position.
Budget
Position Highlights
Governor Edward G. Rendell’s proposed budget for 2007/08 offers:
• a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for mental health/mental retardation (MH/MR). This proposed 3 percent COLA must remain as a minimum increase for MH/MR programs. In the FY 206/07 budget PCPA fought for equity with other sectors of the public health system; while those sectors received 4 percent, MH/MR only received 2 percent. The community health system continues to lag behind other vital components of the public health system. The proposed 3 percent will only help keep the system at the status quo, given the previous lack of adequate COLAs and ever-increasing costs.
• a 2.4 percent increase for drug and alcohol (D&A) programs in the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs (BDAP) under the Department of Health. PCPA believes strongly that the BDAP programs should at minimum receive a 3 percent COLA; D&A programs did not receive a COLA in the previous budget.
Participate
in PCPA’s Capitol Day June 5
PCPA members and friends are urged to attend the association’s annual
Capitol Day on June 5 at the Harrisburg State Capitol. A major element of
PCPA’s agenda for Capitol Day is gaining legislative support for the
budget position. Come join colleagues, consumers, persons in recovery, and
supporters of the behavioral health and mental retardation system on June
5 to promote adequate funding in the 2007/08 state budget!
More information regarding PCPA’s Capitol Day can be found on the association web site at www.paproviders.org. The Capitol Day registration form can be accessed at www.paproviders.org/Pages/Legislative_Archive/Capitol_Day_Registration_051607.pdf.
Contact Melissa DiSanto Simmons, director of legislative affairs, with questions or concerns.
