After receiving the House’s revisions to the FY10 amended budget two Thursdays ago, the Senate moved quickly to pass its own version in just under a week.  Approved by the Senate last Thursday, the amended budget moves to a conference committee that will make changes to unify the House and Senate versions.

The budget passed by both chambers contained few highlights for state funding recipients.  In the wake of January’s revenue shortfall, which marked 14 consecutive months of decline, budget writers focused on making statewide agency cuts in order to cope.

In terms of the University System budget, the House cut approximately $9.4 million; the Senate reductions were worth approximately $2.5 million more.  Reductions were made primarily in instructional and formula funding.  Details of the budget adjustments can be found inset below.

The USG budgets passed by the House and Senate were similar, however they did not completely agree.  The House moved to cut $1.7 million from the USG special funding initiatives, monies set aside for specific purposes by the University System.  The Senate restored that funding.  

From the House recommendations, the Senate moved to cut an additional $3.8 million in formula funds and $490,000 from MCG Health, Inc. The House has not yet had a chance to react to these reductions.

The amended FY10 budgeting process is far from over.  Conferees from the House and Senate now must meet to reconcile the differences between the two chambers differing versions.  
The conference committee process is not expected to move forward quickly.  House and Senate leaders will likely delay action on the budget and use the two week recess that has just begun to watch for changes in state revenue.  

February’s collection results announced in early March will provide conferees guidance on what additional revisions might be necessary to balance the budget.

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Budget tracking documents can be found online at  http://tinyurl.com/fy10Tracking.