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Senate panel wants Penn State NCAA fine funds to stay in Pennsylvania
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HARRISBURG -- A state Senate panel approved a measure this afternoon that would require funds from Penn State's $60 million fine to be spent on programs within the commonwealth.
That measure, from Republican Sen. Jake Corman, whose Centre County district includes Penn State's University Park campus, drew a unanimous panel vote. It is expected to be voted Wednesday by the full Senate.
The fine -- which will go into an endowment for programs preventing child sex abuse or assisting abuse victims -- is part of a set of NCAA sanctions that Penn State agreed to in July. Other penalties are a four-year ban on post-season play, sharp cuts in football scholarships and forfeiture of 111 football wins going back to 1998.
Penn State paid its first $12 million installment into an endowment fund in December. The NCAA has since agreed not to begin distributing those funds while a lawsuit filed by Mr. Corman regarding how the fine should be spent is pending.
Mr. Corman's bill would require Penn State and any other higher-education institutions in the future that are required by a governing association to pay a penalty in installments of $10 million or more to make those payments into an endowment set up through the state treasurer.
Under the measure, the funds could be used only to benefit Pennsylvania residents. The dollars would be distributed through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The senator said he has not discussed his legislation with the NCAA, but noted that the consent decree does not specify where the dollars should be spent.
First Published January 28, 2013 6:22 pm
