On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the state Legislature finally did what it should have done 134 days previously — passed a budget for the current fiscal year.

We’ve written extensively about the impact the budget impasse has had on local governments, from municipalities to school boards, as well as on nonprofits. And we are grateful that a budget has finally passed and that lawmakers also passed bills to make sure money starts flowing again as soon as possible.

But that sense of relief should not be mistaken for a feeling that our legislature did its job well. It very much did not, and it was only the pressure of more than four full months of inaction and public outcry that finally got things finished.

This is the second time in three years that a budget failed to pass by the constitutionally mandated date of June 30. And with one chamber controlled by Republicans and the other by Democrats, political infighting and conflicting priorities made reaching a deal take even longer this year than in 2023.

Simply put, the people of Pennsylvania deserve better from their elected representatives.

There are proposals about ways to help make sure the process doesn’t drag out in the future, including barring pay raises in years when lawmakers fail to pass a budget by June 30.

We think something needs to be done, and done soon, to ensure that elected officials who don’t do their constitutionally prescribed duty are held accountable.

— JK