Questions and Answers

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The Act

• Why is this proposal needed?
• Why is The Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act included as part of the Executive Budget if there are no costs or savings associated with it in the State Financial Plan?

Tuition

Economic Development

Off-Budget Provisions

Lease and Public/Private Partnership Provisions

Procurement Provisions

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The Act

Why is this proposal needed?

A. The State University of New York operates within a 1960s-era regulatory framework that no longer responds the global, high-tech, competitive world we are now living in.  In a time of scarce state resources, the State University needs to be entrepreneurial in generating revenues which will support and enhance the ability to fund current needs and future academic growth.  By eliminating burdensome and duplicative regulation, SUNY will have the ability to facilitate partnerships with private business, thereby creating promised job growth and more efficient and cost-effective procurement practices.

Why is The Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act included as part of the Executive Budget if there are no costs or savings associated with it in the State Financial Plan?

A. This proposal is an economic development tool that will enable SUNY and CUNY to become financially independent, create jobs and spur economic development.  State spending is reduced by upwards of $3 billion by investing all tuition, fees and other self-generated revenues in SUNY campuses rather than having them annually appropriated by the Legislature, thereby benefiting the state’s credit rating and cash flows.

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