Jul. 06, 2023
HARRISBURG – The following statement is issued on behalf of House Republican Appropriation Chairman Seth Grove (R-York) on the failure of
HB 612 on July 6, 2023.
“House Republicans listed a variety of reforms to earn our votes on HB 612: a seat at the budget table, subjecting State-Related Universities to the Right-to-Know law, direct to student funding, and most important, tuition freezes. None of these requests have been fulfilled, therefore many Republicans again voted no.
“It is important to remember, aside from Lincoln who will freeze tuition for upper classmen, Penn State, Temple, and Pitt all stated even with 7.1% increase in funding, tuition would be raised. If House Democrats, the Governor, and the State-Related Universities want to earn Republican votes, the conditions are clear and have not changed.
“Furthermore, the budget as passed by both the House yesterday and the Senate on June 30 envisioned level funding for all four State-Related Universities. However, HB 612 as currently drafted, calls for 7.1% increases for Penn State, Temple, and Pitt and a 25.3% increase for Lincoln. Without knowing the final cost of this budget, I cannot support this bill.
Representative Seth Grove
196th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives