Blue Pennsylvania: How Your Election Work Got Us a Budget this Year in Pennsylvania

There is really no need for me to reiterate what you’ve probably read on a million blog posts already – that Democrats did extremely well across the state and around the country.  School boards with significant Republican majorities in 2021 are now 100% blue.  And many of these gains were in senatorial districts that we are hoping to flip from red to blue.

Certainly, the biggest news was the fact that all of the state appellate judges and justices who were up for retention kept their seats.

But possibly the biggest short-term effect from this election was the news this week that the state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year was signed into law this past Wednesday – four months and twelve days past Pennsylvania’s constitutional deadline.

Certainly pundits will want to blame both sides for the delay, but with inflation running over 3%, and with the federal government’s restraints on allotting new money to states, the Pennsylvania senate was simply in denial about the actual costs associated with running the commonwealth.

You may remember that the budget process for this cycle began in February when Governor Shapiro proposed a $51.5 billion budget.  After several rounds of votes in the two chambers, the Democratic house conceded $1,2 billion less than Governor Shapiro’s proposal in September, while the Senate Republicans’ October offer was $47.9 billion – a slight increase from last year’s budget.

There is no doubt that the strong Democratic showing in the November 4 election forced the senate to capitulate and sign off on a final budget of $50.09 billion.

In many ways, the big winner in the newly signed budget is public education.  Here are the highlights:

•  $565 million increase for public schools, which is the second installment in the adequacy and tax equity payments needed to fix Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional school funding system

• $105 million increase in basic education funding for all public schools

• $40 million increase in special education funding for all public schools

• $78 million in net increased cyber charter tuition savings for public school districts

•  $30 million for the student teacher stipend program

• $125 million for school facilities, with at least $25 million set aside for Solar for Schools

• $100 million for school safety and mental health grants

From Education Voters

At the same time, the 4 ½ month impasse has forced some districts to take out costly loans that may cancel out the benefits from this year’s budget increases.

Low-income households will also see a brand-new benefit in this new budget – the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit - which will deliver tax relief of as much as $805 for low income working families.

This budget clearly falls short in a number of ways.  First, the lack of a permanent revenue stream for mass transit is very problematic.  SEPTA regional rail riders have seen the tip of this iceberg over the past month-and-a-half with train cancelations and delays due to the Silverliner IV Inspections.

Another casualty of this year’s budget is the state’s withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).  RGGI is a cap-and-trade program that has helped to lower greenhouse gas emissions while generating new revenue for participating states.  Various studies have arrived at mixed conclusions on the effect of RGGI on ratepayers, but for a state that is responsible for about 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, participation in RGGI should be a top priority for Pennsylvania if we are at all serious about combatting climate change.

Where do we go from here?  Transportation and the environment suffered defeat in this year’s budget, but next year we have the midterm elections.  Many vulnerable state house and senate offices will be up for grabs.  We have an excellent chance of taking control of the state senate, and increasing our majority in the house.  It is not a slam-dunk, but if we play our cards right, we can use this year’s capital to profit in 2026.

If we win, we can bring back RGGI, and fund public transportation.  And there is no reason why we should not be able to augment the state treasury with proceeds from legalized marijuana, skill games, fracking, and combined reporting.  But that won’t happen until we turn both houses of the General Assembly and the governor’s mansion blue.  So, rest up for an exciting challenge in 2026.

Thanks,

Coleman