The state House Appropriations Committee has asked Gov. Ed Rendell to field questions next month at a hearing on the state's $10 million allocation to the host committee for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Rendell was the chair of the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee, which has come under fire in recent weeks for its disbursement of $2.1 million in surplus funds as bonus payments to staffers and grants to non-profits.

The hearing date is set for June 15, but stay tuned on that.

Rendell said Wednesday that while he is happy to take questions from the committee, he has been asked by state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale to comply with his auditors' requests first.

Given that, and Rendell's own travel schedule, the former governor said he would prefer a date in July.

In his letter, Chairman Stan Saylor, R-Red Lion, stated the committee wants Rendell to answer questions about the use of the state funds allocated to the host committee, and get his perspective on whether the state should continue to offer grants to support similar political events in the future.

"As chair of the Host Committee... you offer a unique perspective and can provide details which can help legislators as we work to finalize the coming year's state budget," Saylor wrote.

Saylor was ill Wednesday and not available for comment.

But there have been suggestions by some top Republicans in Harrisburg that the committee's failure to reimburse the state for any of its $10 million in public funds should be a factor in making final fiscal year 2018 allocations to Philadelphia.

Rendell has defended the committee's use of funds in public statements to date, arguing that the state funds were appropriately spent on the items identified in the grant contract.

He had also noted that after-event studies have shown the convention povided a $230 million life to the Philadelphia area's economy last summer, with direct tax payments resulting from convention spending exceeding $11 million.

But many lawmakers have argued that the state funding by definition contributed to the overall surplus, so committee leaders, including Rendell, should have considered state taxpayers before awarding six-figure bonus payments.

Saylor 's letter suggested the intent of the Appropriations Committee's hearing is a look forward, to help inform lawmakers whether they should continue such grants to support major public events.