Members of the Temple community are closely following ongoing legislative discussions on Pennsylvania’s fiscal 2012 budget and proposed cuts in funding for the Commonwealth’s state-related institutions.

Last week, Rep. Bill Adolph, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced an amended version of Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget from March. Adolph’s plan would increase Temple’s funding by 25 percent over the governor’s proposal, reducing the university's appropriation by nearly $45 million from last year.

“This is an important step in the right direction in securing a fair appropriation for Temple, but a reduction of this size would still require the university to consider a broad range of options,” said Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr., the university’s senior vice president for government, community and public affairs.

Rep. Adolph’s proposal was passed by the House Appropriations Committee and will be sent to the full House in the coming weeks. With leadership in both the House and Senate expected to finalize the budget in advance of the June 30th constitutional deadline, the General Assembly and Gov. Corbett are likely just weeks away completing the Commonwealth budget process for the coming fiscal year.

Since the governor’s budget proposal was first announced in March, members of the Temple community have been actively involved in communicating the value and importance of state support for the university. Members the Temple Advocates Legislative Outreach Network (TALON) have sent nearly 6,000 letters to the General Assembly, visited the office of each member in Harrisburg and rallied both on campus and in the Capitol to vocalize support for Temple.

While progress has been made, Lawrence is urging members of TALON to continue to advocate for Temple.

“I want everyone to make sure that they have their friends and families use TALON’s web site to contact their elected officials,” he said. “Please share our updates with friends, post links to our site on Facebook and Twitter, and continue to talk to peers about what is happening in Harrisburg.”

As the budget process begins to wind down, members of TALON are also being asked to contact their State Representative and Senator and meet with them at their local offices to discuss support for Temple. Contact information for all members of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly is available on TALON’s website, and advocates can get more information on meeting with elected officials by emailing TALON@temple.edu.