How bad is the pain? Well, House Republicans would argue not bad enough. They wanted to spend even less and withheld their support from the final agreement. But for public television stations alone, it could not be much worse. (Okay, Governor Ed Rendell and Senate Republicans initially called for zero funding for public TV. That would have been worse.) The newly enacted budget cuts direct state aid to Pennsylvania’s eight public TV stations by 85.7 percent -- a loss of nearly $7 million. WITF’s President and CEO Kathleen Pavelko tells the Harrisburg Patriot News, “It’s a bruising blow but we are not broken.” WITF’s state operating grants drop to $114,000 from last year’s $917,000. Stations will divvy up $1 million to cover operating costs and they might get to split another $1.5 million for technology services. The budget deal also eliminates the state agency (PPTN) that had administered their funding for more than 40 years and it shuts down a fiber-optic network the stations used for sharing programs and simulcasts.

WITF has laid off workers, reduced salaries, trimmed other costs, and eliminated the locally produced program “Explore PA” to cope with the funding shortages. Kathleen will join us Friday night at 8:30 to explain where public TV goes from here.

Arts, cultural and heritage organizations spent a few uncomfortable weeks on the legislative griddle during the budget negotiations as lawmakers and Gov. Rendell in mid-September struck a deal to subject live entertainment performances, venues, zoos and museums to the state sales tax. Many arts supporters feared the tax would drive down discretionary spending on cultural and entertainment attractions, even though some of the revenue generated from that tax would have been earmarked for a new cultural-arts fund.

However, the so-called “Madonna tax” met a wall of opposition in the House Democratic caucus and so leaders dropped the idea. That doesn’t mean arts groups aren’t still suffering. Grants funding – the lifeblood of many community arts and cultural groups – administered by The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts drops from $15.2 million to $11 million – a 28% reduction. That’s its lowest level in a decade. Lawmakers add a new line item, “Cultural Preservation Grants,” in the Executive Offices budget for the new fiscal year. It shifts funding for nine museums that had previously been supported by line-items under the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Some speculate that this line item could become a new version of WAMS, walking-around-money doled out by legislators for their pet projects. Only now, that money would be at the discretion of the Governor's Office. The Cultural Preservation Grants totaling $3.1 million in FY2010 will support nine museums, the Heinz History Center, and other cultural organizations to be determined.

And the hits to culture just keep on coming. Six line items in the Department of Community and Economic Development’s budget that affect arts and culture all take reductions. State support for zoos drops from $2.2 million to $1.2 million – a 45% cut. The Public Library Subsidy funding slips from $75.9 million in FY2009 to $60 million in FY2010 -- a 21% fall. Getting the ax entirely, funding for the Governor’s Schools of Excellence. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission grants program, general government operations funds all face drops. PHMC maintains a network of state-owned museums and historical sites. With 24 percent less funding, their operation will be more difficult.

Social service agencies want the Rendell administration to repay them millions of dollars in interest they accrued when they had to borrow money to pay their bills during the budget impasse. The state Treasury Department rushed $3 billion in back payments last week to the highest priority agencies. Still, these groups have seen their state allocations dwindle, have had to cut staff and they argue that leaves fewer people being helped during a severe economic downturn. Tony Ross, president and CEO of the United Way of Pennsylvania, will share with us the strategy underway in the social services community to deal with fewer state dollars and ever-growing needs.

The Department of Environmental Protection takes one of the biggest hits among Cabinet-level agencies – 27 percent – knocking it back to its 1996 funding level. Lawmakers and Gov. Rendell slash the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – the agency that manages state parks and forests – by 19 percent. The Rendell administration insists DEP’s oversight responsibilities and permitting-processes will not suffer but environmental activists question that assertion. (For an alarming article on new concerns about wastewater generated by drilling in the Marcellus Shale and DEP's ability to respond, click here.) They peg the number of potential job losses at DEP at 400 and 160 at DCNR. Gov. Rendell says he’ll announce later this week whether there must be any further state employee furloughs but also admits some of the notices might come right in time for the holdiays.

"We're concerned about whether DCNR and DEP are really going to be able to do their jobs with the significant percentage cut to their budgets," Donald Welsh, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, worries to The Times-Tribune of Scranton. Jeff Schmidt, Pennsylvania chapter director of the Sierra Club, joins our panel Friday night to offer his perspective on assuring environmental protection with fewer state dollars.

Central Pennsylvanians could feel the sting of environmental cuts most acutely next spring and summer as black fly- and West Nile virus- spraying programs endure deeper cuts. If you consider that DCNR Secretary John Quigley said in May that a budget cut of $26 million from his agency, proposed then by the Senate GOP, would force the closure of 35 of the117 state parks and 1,000 miles of state forest roads, then the actual cut of $28 million portends dire results for state parks and forest enthusiasts. And it’s especially ironic given that just last week DCNR took home the 2009 National Gold Medal Award, the “Oscar,” if you will, of recreation and park agency awards. The American Academy of Park and Recreation Management in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association chose the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks for this prestigious award on the basis of “… excellence in long-range planning, resource management, citizen-support systems, environmental stewardship, program development and professional development” With $21 million fewer dollars this year, it might be especially difficult to repeat as champions.

Hospitals and other healthcare providears feel the pinch as well. Hospitals end up with an approximately 12% reduction in hospital payments compared to FY2008-2009. It could have been much worse. Roger Baumgarten, director of media relations for The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, writes, "Where health care really takes a hit in the budget is in the transfer or re-direction of more than $1 billion in Mcare-related funds (transfer of HealthCare Provider Retention Account (HCPRA) and Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund (Mcare balances, plus re-direction of Catastrophic Loss Benefits Continuation (Auto CAT) Fund surcharges and cigarette taxes) to the General Fund. The impact on physician recruitment/retention and the overall medical liability environment--and therefore patient access to care--will be significant." James Redmond, senior vice president of legislative services for HAP, will share his thoughts on the budget's effect on healthcare in Pennsylvania.

This year’s budget fiasco could easily be repeated as Pennsylvania struggles with more fallout from the weak economy and structural government deficits. Proposals exist to improve the budgeting process. However, that subject is fodder for another show. We hope you'll join us Friday night at 8:30 for Smart Talk. Feel free to email your thoughts to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .