Shapiro unveils 2025-26 budget; draws mixed reviews

Declaring that “Pennsylvania is on the rise,” Governor Josh Shapiro on Tuesday unveiled his 2025-26 budget proposal.

The governor’s 91-minute address drew mixed reviews in the General Assembly, prompting optimism from his fellow Democrats and a guarded response from Republicans.

“Pennsylvania is on the rise, and this budget is a clear roadmap for tackling our challenges and building on the bipartisan foundation we’ve created over the last two years,” Shapiro said. “My budget proposal is focused on solving problems for Pennsylvanians, expanding our workforce, cutting costs, investing in public safety and economic development – and so much more – to keep creating more opportunity for all Pennsylvanians.”

The governor spent a third of his speech praising the bipartisan agreements reached by the state’s divided House and Senate. Shapiro stated his budget is designed to cut costs for health care, housing, and energy; spur economic growth; strengthen public safety; fund education; and make Pennsylvania more competitive economically. The proposal emphasized workforce development; investing in economic development; and maintaining bipartisan efforts to support students.  In addition, Shapiro spoke of maintaining a balanced budget and cutting taxes and eliminating red tape and duplicative government programs.

“This budget strikes a balance by making historic investments while maintaining fiscal responsibility, continuing to cut taxes, and ensuring our commonwealth’s surplus remains strong while we keep moving Pennsylvania forward,” Shapiro said. “By working together with Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly, we will continue to tackle the challenges we face and drive growth for a stronger, more prosperous Pennsylvania.”

Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis said the budget proposal is pro-Pennsylvania.

“Over the past year, I’ve been honored to meet with Pennsylvanians who are getting stuff done in their communities — people who are working to make their neighborhoods safer, teachers who are educating our youngest learners, advocates that are fighting for victims’ voices to be heard,” said Davis. “This budget shows we have their back, by investing more in afterschool programs that help keep kids safe and expand their horizons, more in community-based organizations that are addressing gun violence, more for early childhood education and childcare and more to support victims of crime.”

Republicans responded with statements calling for a more responsible and realistic budget proposal.

Rep. Gary Day (R-Lehigh) issued the following statement in response to the governor’s plan:

“Gov. Shapiro has outlined a budget that includes a 7.5% increase in spending, while revenue collections are only projected to grow by 2.5%. At $51.47 billion, this budget would deplete our state’s surplus of $2.89 billion by the end of this fiscal year and would also require drawing from our Rainy Day Fund. While we understand the governor’s aspirations for Pennsylvania, this proposal places significant pressure on future budgets and fiscal sustainability.

“There are several aspects of the proposal that I support, including funding for firefighters, state police cadets, Pre-K programs, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) schools. These are all important initiatives that I believe will benefit our communities. However, we must also recognize the long-term implications of this budget and take a closer look at its overall impact.

“Right now, this budget appears to be more of a wish list, and while it includes valuable investments, we must also ensure that we remain focused on the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. The proposed spending is substantial, and we must be cautious not to grow government faster than the private sector can sustain. Our priority must be to foster an environment where taxpayers and private sector jobs thrive.

“It’s time for legislators to thoroughly review this budget proposal, with the best interests of taxpayers in mind. We must make fiscally responsible decisions to ensure that the tax burden remains low and that future generations are not burdened by unsustainable spending.”

The House Appropriations Committee will begin a series of hearings starting Feb. 18, to examine Shapiro’s plan and how state departments and agencies are spending their funding. The General Assembly and governor have a deadline to finalize the budget by June 30.