Amanda Ross

Editor-In-Chief

This post was originally published on September 24.

As of Monday, Sep. 22, the Pennsylvania state budget is now late by almost three months. As state legislators struggle to agree on key issues, critical state services are beginning to face the reality of the impasse.

The state budget was originally due on June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Lawmakers in the state house, however, did not pass the budget bill until July 14, causing it to be overdue before senate lawmakers saw the bill. While this was late, it was not at the time a cause for excessive concern. 2024’s budget was not passed fully until July 11, however this did not cause significant upset within state programs.  

Yet, even in the senate the bill has faced significant pushback from Republican legislators and still has yet to be passed. The issue arises from the amount of spending proposed within the budget. Estimates have placed the revenue of the state from 2025 to 2026 around 46.4 billion, but the spending within the bill is around 51.5 billion. This would create a deficit of around 5 billion. Per the state constitution, the budget cannot be passed without a way to Pennsylvania to pay that deficit. Governor Shapiro and his allies plan on using the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which currently is around 7.7 billion. Those against the bill have said that using the fund is a mistake, and that it should not be relied on for the general budget.

Legislators have also had problems with the proposed new revenue streams Shapiro wanted to use to help cover the deficit. In particular, the legalization of cannabis was taken out of the bill while it was still in the house, and lawmakers have been unable to agree on how to regulate and thus tax games of skill. While originally seeming like ways to increase the bill’s potential of passing, it’s possible that both measures have only slowed the bill. However, it does not change that Republican lawmakers are holding firm on their assertion to not pass a bill with an increase in spending from last year’s budget of 47.6 billion.

The lack of a budget is now beginning to affect state services. The Philadelphia school district was forced to borrow around 1.5 billion earlier this month to be able to pay for things such as student transportation and district supplies. YWCA Victims Services, a domestic violence hotline located in York County, has been left completely without funding, making the future of the organization unclear. Despite this, it is still not clear when lawmakers will come to an agreement.