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PA House Democrats Reject Senate Budget, Transit Funding Bills
The Republican-controlled Senate approved a transit bill increasing fares by 21.5% and using state transit funds, while the Democratic House plans to review it amid ongoing budget disagreements.
- On August 14, 2025, the Pennsylvania House rejected the Republican-led Senate's budget and transit funding bills, deepening the budget stalemate.
- The Senate passed a $47.6 billion flat-funded budget and a $1.2 billion transit plan relying on the Public Transportation Trust Fund, but House Democrats opposed both measures.
- Without a budget deal by August 14, SEPTA warned it would start 20% service cuts including eliminating bus routes and imposing earlier rail curfews, affecting about 800,000 daily riders.
- House Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris called the Senate proposal "not a serious bill" and said flat funding equates to significant cuts amid rising costs affecting all Pennsylvanians.
- The stalled negotiations suggest continued funding crises for transit and schools, with bipartisan consensus needed to avoid service cuts and implement sustainable revenues.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Public transit funding and the road not yet taken - Washington Examiner
(The Center Square) – There’s no shortage of frustration when it comes to stalled negotiations over funding for public transit in Pennsylvania. Of the plans proffered – using sales taxes versus dipping into the transit trust fund – neither has bipartisan support. There’s a road not yet taken, however. In the days before both chambers convened to approve their respective solutions, Republican Sen. Gene Yaw, of Williamsport, and Democratic Sen. An…
Pa. House kills Senate budget, transit bills as battle lines remain unchanged
Transit fare hikes and service cuts in the Philadelphia region will begin unless the funding picture changes by tomorrow, according to SEPTA, but the front lines of Pa.'s budget stalemate haven't moved.
Pennsylvania Senate passes budget including transit funding, but House is unlikely to agree
SEPTA says 20% service cuts will begin Aug. 24-25 unless the state passes a budget by Aug. 14 that addresses the agency’s funding shortfalls. SEPTA HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate has passed a funding bill that would largely use capital funding to maintain transit operations, a move the state’s governor and Democratically-controlled House say is not a viable solution to the funding shortfall that could lead to major…
NBC Philadelphia
The Philadelphia TribuneTransit bill from Pa. Senate fails to move forward as SEPTA's deadline approaches
With SEPTA's deadline to avoid a "death spiral" a day away, a Pa. House Committee did not approve of a transit bill that was passed by the Senate.
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- 43% of the sources lean Left, 43% of the sources are Center
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