Opinion ID: 221516
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Impact on the Treasury

Text: It is undisputed that the Commonwealth provides the bulk of the funding for the University's operations. By law, the Commonwealth must dedicate 9.6% of its general fund revenues to the UPR. P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 18, § 621-1. The parties debate what percentage of the University's budget those funds represent, but even appellant acknowledges that more than sixty percent of the UPR's funding comes from the government. He argues that the institution's non-government funds are more than sufficient to satisfy any judgments, asserting that in one recent year the UPR had nearly $579 million in non-Commonwealth income. [12] Appellant's calculations, however, patently overestimate the University's available resources by including funds that are identified as restricted in the budget document on which he relies. Indeed, in the reported year, 2008-2009, only about one-fifth of the non-Commonwealth funds appear to have been unrestricted, [13] leaving the Commonwealth as the source for nearly ninety percent of the University's general fund. See P.R. Ass'n of Univ. Profs., 136 P.R. Dec. 335, Unoff. Trans. at 42 (observing that, at the time of the decision in 1994, eighty-six percent of the University's budget came from the General Fund of the Commonwealth). More importantly, however, the University's status cannot turn on whether its budget shows enough non-Commonwealth income to allow it, in theory, to pay a court judgment. Allocating any portion of the University's general fund revenues to court judgments not only would dilute the impact of the public funds the UPR receives, but such damage awards also would diminish the University's ability to comply with its statutory mission to provide good quality higher education for all residents of Puerto Rico. Id. at 45. [14] The UPR does not have the flexibility to offset unanticipated expenses by passing the additional costs on to its customers. See id.; cf. Metcalf & Eddy, 991 F.2d at 940 (Although the central government subsidizes the agency to some extent, [the agency] relies mostly on user fees and bonds to support its operations.). Because providing affordable higher education for Puerto Rico residents is the Commonwealth's goal, the Commonwealth must as a practical matter ensure the University's financial viabilityregardless of its responsibility for particular University debts. We suggested as much in Fresenius, where we observed that the Commonwealth may indirectly assume the obligation for an entity's debts by providing virtually all the funds needed for [its] operation. 322 F.3d at 72; see also Pastrana-Torres, 460 F.3d at 128 (same); Metcalf & Eddy, 991 F.2d at 941 (quoting Blake v. Kline, 612 F.2d 718, 723 (3d Cir.1979), for the proposition that `the nature of the state's obligation to contribute may be more important than the size of the contribution'). In sum, the Commonwealth's investment, financial and otherwise, in the UPR's ability to fulfill its obligation of service to the people of Puerto Rico, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 18, § 601(a), puts Commonwealth funds at risk when University funds are at risk. Hence, we are comfortable that our longstanding precedent remains consistent with current Eleventh Amendment principles. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's judgment dismissing this action on the ground that appellant's claims are foreclosed by the Eleventh Amendment. So ordered.