Start working to pass the state budget now
On Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled his $53.5 billion 2026-27 state budget proposal in an address to the General Assembly. That gives Shapiro’s administration and members of the legislature on both sides of the aisle 148 days — or just shy of five months — to come to a compromise on a state budget for the coming fiscal year.
At face value, it seems like a very attainable goal. Pass a budget for a year with just under half a year’s time to negotiate, and come up with a spending plan everyone may not like, but can learn to live with.
Despite this, history is not on their side.
Were the Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly to meet the annual, constitutionally mandated June 30 budget deadline in time, and were the plan to be something the governor was willing to sign into law, it would be the first time Pennsylvania’s budget passed on time since 2021. Looking further back on the history of the budget before 2020, one would find this pattern isn’t a new one.
Every one of those impasses, even the short ones, hurts the residents of Pennsylvania to some degree. From schoolchildren to older adults and everyone in between, state taxes and spending touch some part of their lives.
One can argue the merits of various spending line items and amounts in the governor’s proposal or the potential value of included initiatives. On the other side of the ledger, how realistic revenue projections are, some from established sources and others from those only proposed, can also be debated. Regardless of any of that, it’s important to remember Shapiro’s proposal is just that — a proposal. It’s meant as a starting point for negotiations. It is not a set-in-stone list of demands the legislature is expected to bow down to.
In the wake of last year’s 135-day-late spending plan, we hope the governor and members of the General Assembly — both Republican and Democrat — can buck the trend of missed budget deadlines for the sake of the voters they were elected to represent.
— JP
