Today, the Pennsylvania Senate voted for a budget that respects taxpayers, expands educational opportunities, and protects our most vulnerable citizens.
I’m pleased to report that after many months of meetings; we were able to negotiate a more reasonable spending plan with no tax increases on Pennsylvania families or businesses.
Spending in the budget is $1.1 billion below the level Governor Shapiro proposed in his February budget, while also restoring more than $450 million of funding for programs that are important to the General Assembly.
This $50.8 billion FY 2025-2026 state budget positions the Commonwealth for growth and success.
The budget protects the state’s Rainy-Day Fund to hedge against any economic downturn in the future, helping stabilize the Commonwealth’s fiscal foundation with an estimated ending balance approaching $8 billion.
I am proud to report that my legislation to provide a much-deserved COLA for our police and firefighters is included in the budget. The last time they received a COLA was more than two decades ago and every year since, inflation and rising costs have diminished the benefits they earned. These brave men and women have spent their careers putting their lives on the line to keep our communities and neighborhoods safe. It’s time we acknowledge their contribution to our society.
The budget also provides a COLA for PA State Employees Retirement System (SERS) and Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) for pre-Act 9 retirees.
Significant new funding is devoted to basic education, with substantial resources dedicated to the Ready to Learn Block Grant program, school facility improvements, and Pre-K Counts. Programs I have strongly supported.
Importantly, the budget also maintains funding to empower parents and families to ensure students can learn in the environment that best meets their individualized educational needs providing available tax credits at $680 million for the highly successful Educational Improvement Tax Credit program.
I’m also pleased to report that the budget increases funding for Special Education Funding, Early Intervention Services, and Career and Technical Education by almost 7%.
We also maintain funding for Ready to Succeed Scholarships at $59.9 million and raise the family income threshold for eligibility from $200,000 to $208,000 while also increasing the maximum scholarship award from $2,500 to $3,000.
In addition, the highly successful Grow PA Scholarship program which incentivizes students to pursue post-secondary education in Pennsylvania and agree to work in in-demand jobs in the state after they graduate, received an increase of $10 million.
Early education is so important. To promote excellence in care, we increased the Child Care Recruitment and Retention appropriation by $5 million to $30 million to support childcare workforce recruitment and retention.
I am also pleased to support increases in mental health services and significant increases in nursing home and long-term care managed care funding. In addition, the budget provides a $12 million increase for rape crisis services, nearly double last year’s amount.
I believe this budget reflects the value of working together in a divided government. It delivers meaningful victories for Pennsylvania families while maintaining a responsible approach to our state’s finances.
Contact: Matt Szuchyt, mszuchyt@pasen.gov.