Living up to the warnings he gave the New York State Legislature, Gov. George E. Pataki has vetoed over 200 parts of the state budget, including direct funding for capital projects at UB and plans to extend the state's Tuition Assistance Program to part-time students.
"The budget does create fiscal difficulties, very real ones, for the future of this state," Pataki said at a Wednesday news conference in Albany, referring to the version of the plan passed by the legislature.
Among the cuts from Pataki's various executive vetoes was money earmarked for TAP. Whereas the legislature was hoping to fund new initiatives to increase aid to part-time students with the program - which is currently only open to full-time students - Pataki's vetoes closed the door on TAP assistance to any student registered for less than 15 credits per semester, three credits more than the minimum for full-time status at UB.
In a statement released by President Simpson's office Thursday afternoon, the president said he finds the vetoes "disappointing."
"The New York State Legislature's higher education budget for 2006 was a significant step toward making the long-term investments necessary for SUNY to be a world-class educational system," Simpson said in the statement. The president previously spoke highly of the legislature's actions at last week's UB Council meeting
Pataki's vetoes also included $25 million towards a proposed new engineering building on campus; the money was bundled in $400 million for construction efforts across the SUNY system.
During the Wednesday news conference, Pataki said he would not refuse possible negotiations with the legislature. Simpson, in his statement, made a call to action to the legislature and to its New York constituents.
"I urge the Legislature to restore the SUNY funds to the budget when they reconvene later this month and encourage students, alumni and all of those who are dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of SUNY and the University at Buffalo to contact their legislators to urge them to support the restorations," Simpson said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
