After four months, the Pennsylvania House and Senate have passed a budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The $50.1 billion spending plan advanced by a 156-47 vote in the State House, while the Senate passed it 41-9, and will bring the budget impasse that stopped the flow of money to schools, counties and non-profit agencies to an end. One of the key items of the budget is the removal of Pennsylvania from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI. Pennsylvania’s entry into the cap and trade compact was started by an executive order from Former Governor Tom Wolf in 2019, but it was declared unconstitutional in 2023.
The total budget represents an increase of $2.27 billion from last year, but it leaves the state with roughly $200 million in reserves and the rainy day fund untouched. State Representative Jim Struzzi added that the budget does lessen the impact of charter school funding requirements.
On the floor of the Senate, Pittman said that the budget took longer to pass than anyone would have liked, but it showed that a divided government can work.
The bill is now headed to Governor Josh Shapiro’s desk for his signature.
