State Operated Colleges and Universities

- $41.7 million for collective bargaining agreements

- $13.5 million for sponsored research, enrollment growth, inflation and other trustee priorities

- $185 million in new capital appropriation authority for a multi-year capital program for SUNY's residence halls, with proceeds to be used, in part, to retrofit older dormitories with smoke detectors and alarms

- Recommends no tuition increase for undergraduate programs in 2001-02 academic year

- Recommends language to allow the SUNY Board of Trustees to establish differential tuition rates for graduate and professional degree programs, based on demand for and cost of programs at individual campuses

Compared to the 2001 SUNY estimate and budget request, the governor's recommendations fall short-by $22 million-of the amount needed to maintain the base budget. Further, the recommendation does not fund the $40 million Quality Initiative requested by the Board of Trustees.

Centers of Excellence

The governor recommends a total of $283 million to fund Centers of Excellence over a period of five years, and announced four such centers:

- Bioinformatics (Informatics) at UB

- Photonics and Optoelectronics at Rochester

- Nanoelectronics at Albany

- An additional center at Stony Brook/Long Island

Through the centers, new high-tech businesses will be created and attracted to the state, generating economic growth and new jobs.

SUNY Hospitals

The governor recommends a plan to resolve the SUNY hospitals' financial crisis through the following actions:

- SUNY's core operating budget no longer would rely on payment of $116.2 million from the hospitals

- Allocate $84.6 million in state funds toward the accumulated deficit over a multi-year period

- Provide an additional subsidy of $51.4 million in SFY 2001-02 to address extraordinary hospital costs and thereby reduce the operating deficit

- Enact statutory changes to: