State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, said she’s heard more about electric bicycles than about the budget impasse from her constituents over a recent period.

The Butler County representative said she’s seen minimal outcry about the lengthy state budget impasse and joined other elected state legislators from Butler County, all Republicans, in pointing fingers at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration and the Democrats when asked about the stalemate last week.

“I have had a few comments from constituents who are urging a budget to be passed, usually from organizations affected by the temporary halt in money flow,” Mustello said. “However, not too many.”

Pennsylvania’s lawmakers had until June 30 to agree on a budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. As of Friday, Oct. 24, it had been 116 days since that deadline, leaving agencies reliant on state funding to their own devices.

Several Butler County area school districts are seeking loans to cover their operating costs, and nearby counties have had to furlough employees and make drastic cuts.

The federal shutdown exasperates the situation, as the state isn’t able to cover for the lack of a federal budget, which has paused funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Head Start program, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and other federally funded programs.

The finger-pointing follows partisan lines.

Among the Pennsylvania state legislators who represent Butler County in the General Assembly, many said in recent interviews the blame for the state’s current budget impasse lies at the feet of Gov. Shapiro and the Democrat-controlled state House of Representatives.

“Our state budget situation is a matter of political posturing and theatrics,” said Mustello. “I put this squarely at the feet of the governor.”

State Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, said the Republicans have “significant concerns.”

“The budget presented by Gov. Shapiro ... will not only guarantee a tax increase over the next several years but also put our commonwealth on a trajectory toward financial disarray and deplete our savings account,” Vogel said, in a statement. “This budget is about real money.

“Our ability to provide reliable, effective, and consistent services to the people of Pennsylvania who need it most is at stake.”

Phil Heasley, vice-chair of the Butler County Democratic Committee, rebuts Republican claims that the budget proposed by House Democrats is in any way reckless or negligent.

“This budget impasse isn’t because of Gov. Shapiro or House Democrats,” Heasley said. “The holdup is entirely on the Republican-controlled state Senate, which has only shown up to work 40 days this year while still collecting their full taxpayer-funded salaries. That’s not leadership, that’s legislative negligence.”

Heasley went as far as accusing the GOP-controlled Senate of deliberately dragging out the budget impasse.

“This isn’t just a political stalemate. It’s a slow, deliberate sabotage of public services,” Heasley said. “And while Senate Republicans keep playing political theater, the people of Butler County are the ones paying the price.”

During an Oct. 21 news conference, Shapiro criticized the state Senate for what he perceived as its lack of action during the crisis. He called upon all the party leaders of each branch of the legislature to act with greater urgency to resolve the budget issue.

“What they need to do is communicate,” Shapiro said. “All four leaders — the Republican and Democratic leader in the Senate, the Republican and Democratic leader in the House, they’ve got to communicate. My office will continue to engage, but the bottom line is, they’re disrespecting the people of Pennsylvania.”

However, state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, who has been in the Pennsylvania state legislature since 1993, accused Shapiro of not doing enough to bridge the gap.

“I do believe that Gov. Shapiro is not adequately engaged in leading the parties to get this done,” Hutchinson said. “In fact, he has engaged in public rhetoric that has made the engagement even more personally contentious.”

State Rep. Stephenie Scialabba, R-12th, predicts the stalemate will end when both sides agree “to base the budget on realistic revenue and prioritize essential needs over political wish lists.”

“Fiscal restraint, not wishful thinking, will bring stability,” Scialabba said.

Gov. Shapiro’s proposed a $51.5 billion budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which included a $3.6 billion increase over the previous year and would bring the state’s budget above the $50 billion threshold for the first time.

His budget suggests a sizable increase in Medicaid costs and a boost in funding for public schools and public transit agencies, but Republicans like Scialabba and State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-8th, say it’s too expensive and relies too heavily on reserves.

“This budget that’s proposed... is causing issues, or will in the future cause issues, for those that depend on state funding,” Bernstine said.

Bernstine said he believes the House-backed spending plan would lead to a sizable tax increase for each Pennsylvania household.

“I've been very consistent, ever since I was elected, that I would never vote for a budget that puts people in a position to have to pay more taxes to Harrisburg,” Bernstine said.

The Republican-led state Senate and the Democratic-led state House have pushed their own proposals for the state budget, each of them varying significantly in scope. The House’s budget proposal, which called for a spending cap of $50.6 billion, passed by a 105-97 vote in March.

Although the plan was still slightly less than the $51.5 billion originally proposed by Shapiro in February, it was not even considered by the GOP-controlled Senate. Instead, the Senate advanced its own bill in August, with a cap of $47.6 billion — the same as the previous year.

On Oct. 21, the Senate narrowly approved a slightly higher, $47.9 billion spending plan which Shapiro publicly derided as “a joke” and “a gimmick” during a news conference in Pittsburgh that same day.

“It doesn’t actually meet the obligations of this commonwealth,” he said.

The state has weathered numerous budget impasses, including a period of seven in a row between 2003 and 2009. However, Hutchinson says this year’s situation is different.

“The tremendously large amount of taxpayer dollars involved this budget cycle is a very significant chasm to bridge,” Hutchinson said. “The budget has grown to this level from about $30 billion just 10 years ago.”

State Rep. Tim Bonner, R-17th, did not respond to requests for comment.