Shapiro Signs $50.8B State Budget Amid Praise, Barbs
The plan adds more than $900 million for education and keeps the state’s nearly $8 billion rainy day fund intact, officials said.
- On Sunday, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a $50.8 billion state budget into law after both legislative chambers approved the spending plan nearly two weeks past the June 30 statutory deadline.
- This marks the commonwealth's fifth consecutive late budget, requiring significant concessions from both parties. Senate Appropriations Chairman Scott Martin noted that while the final product contains positive measures, both sides accepted compromises they preferred to avoid.
- The budget directs an additional $565 million toward school districts experiencing historic underfunding, part of a broader $900 million education investment. Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa defended the spending, saying it allows struggling districts to "lift themselves up."
- Rep. Brad Roae called the spending plan "very terribly irresponsible," citing accounting maneuvers that delay $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments. The final agreement omits Shapiro's proposals for recreational marijuana legalization and skill games taxation.
- Unresolved issues including public transit funding and affordable housing remain ahead of November's election, when voters will determine if Democrats secure a legislative majority. That shift could dictate future policy fights on data center regulation and cannabis legalization.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Shapiro signs $50.8B state budget amid praise, barbs
(The Center Square) - Bridging a deficit in part by delaying some payments and reclaiming money from what they called the "couch cushions" of state government, lawmakers on Sunday approved a $50.8 billion budget for 2026-27 that immediately got the…
AFP-PA Calls Out 2026 Budget for Failure to Solve Deficit
HARRISBURG, PA – Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania (AFP-PA) criticized progressive state lawmakers and Governor Josh Shapiro on Sunday for signing a $50.8 billion budget that fails to solve the state’s spending deficit. As the state’s largest grassroots organization, AFP-PA called on state lawmakers to balance their budgets like their constituents do and pass a cyclical budgeting rule to tie the government’s expenditures to Pennsylvania’s ec…
$50.8 billion compromise budget in Pa. passed by Legislature, signed by Shapiro
The budget spends roughly $2.4 billion less than Shapiro asked for in his February address, and excludes a number of policies he requested to bring in new revenue, , like legalizing recreational cannabis and regulating skill games.
General Assembly Approves $50.8B State Budget For FY 2026-27 - PoliticsPA
In an early Sunday evening ceremony, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a $50.8 billion state budget for the next fiscal year. The spending package was approved 12 days after the deadline outlined in the state Constitution and was late for the fifth straight year. The governor originally proposed a $53.3B package, but Senate Republicans cut more than $1.1 billion from the governor’s spending request that will not require any withdrawals from …
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