Pennsylvanias $50.8 Billion Budget Passes Amid Unresolved Priorities

Pennsylvania’s Status Quo Budget Amid an Unprecedented Energy Crisis Fails Working Families, Thanks to Senate Republicans - Bucks County Beacon

Every month, around kitchen tables from Yardley to Erie, Pennsylvania’s working families are forced to have the exact same anxiety-inducing conversation. With stagnant wages failing to keep pace with the rising cost of living, parents are sitting down, opening their utility bills and wondering how they are going to make ends meet. Local businesses, the very backbone of our commonwealth’s economy, are making similar agonizing calculations just to…

Pennsylvania Senate Republicans Stop Democrat Tax Hikes, But Shapiro-Led Spending Spree Threatens Future Budgets

Last week, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Pennsylvania’s newest budget. Thanks to Republicans in the State Senate, the state’s new budget includes no tax hikes.   However, the $50.85 billion budget — a 3.72% spending increase from last year — includes several provisions that could prove worrisome for fiscal stability.   Perhaps the most notable of spending increases in the new budget is in education. The new budget includes roughly $678 million in…

EBT Chip Cards, Other PFMA Priorities Get PA State Funding

The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association said several of its legislative priorities were included in the 2026-27 Pennsylvania state budget, which was passed on Sunday, July 19. The budget authorizes the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to transition electronic benefit transfer cards from magnetic stripe to encrypted chip technology by the start of 2028. The change is intended to protect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP…

Pennsylvanias $50.8 Billion Budget Passes Amid Unresolved Priorities

Quick Summary: Pennsylvanias $50.8 Billion Budget Passes Amid Unresolved Priorities Pennsylvania’s $50.8 billion budget includes $900 million for education — Shapiro’s key priorities like mass-transit funding remain unresolved. The budget passed the Senate 44-6 and the House 167-35 — highlighting Shapiro’s ability to negotiate in a divided Capitol. Shapiro’s budget left the state with an $8 billion surplus by 2026-27 — fiscal restraint remains …