A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court panel on Thursday ruled 5-0 in favor of Gov. Ed Rendell's (D) use of a line-item veto to remove language from a budget bill that would have blocked federal funds for women's health services, the AP/Centre Daily Times reports (Scolforo, AP/Centre Daily Times, 8/10). The language, which was approved last year by the state Legislature, would have prevented the state Department of Public Welfare from spending any more than $8.8 million -- the amount allocated for family planning funding in fiscal year 2004-2005 and proposed for FY 2005-2006 -- on family planning services. It also would have subjected any federal family planning funding to the same restrictions as state family planning funds as required under a 1996 state law that says such money "shall not be used to promote, perform or refer for abortions, or engage in abortion counseling." However, Rendell said restricting the use of federal Medicaid funds likely violates the state constitution and federal law. The language in the budget would have blocked the state from receiving between $18 million and $27 million in federal funds (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/6/05). The court dismissed the case -- which was filed in September 2005 by State House Speaker John Perzel (R) and State Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer (R) -- and upheld Rendell's right to use a line-item veto. "The governor's powers of disapproval are no less extensive than, and are entirely coexistent with, the General Assembly's power to enact legislation in the first place," President Judge James Gardner Colins wrote, adding, "In other words, if the General Assembly can put it in, the governor can take it out." The decision says that if the state Legislature disagrees with the veto, it should attempt to override it.

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