State Senator Tracy Pennycuick | Pennsylvania
State Senator Tracy Pennycuick | Pennsylvania
Senator Tracy Pennycuick, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Pennsylvania Senate will scrutinize Governor Josh Shapiro's 2025-26 budget proposal over the coming months. The review aims to mitigate potential tax increases and financial instability.
“I’m very concerned that Gov. Shapiro’s budget would spend down reserves and expose Pennsylvanians to the last thing they can afford, future tax hikes or drastic funding cuts to vital programs,” Pennycuick stated. “This spending plan needs a lot of work.”
Governor Shapiro's $51.5 billion budget proposal suggests an increase in state spending by $3.6 billion, which marks a 7.5% rise compared to the current year’s budget. The governor's optimistic revenue projections and expenditure assumptions might deplete the state's emergency savings, known as the Rainy Day Fund, potentially necessitating a multi-billion-dollar tax increase for Pennsylvania families within eighteen months.
Over five years, using realistic estimates for spending and revenue, Shapiro's plans could result in a $27.3 billion deficit in state finances.
The proposed budget allocates about $2 billion for human services programs and includes increases in funding for Basic Education Funding by $75 million and the Ready-to-Learn Block Grant Program by $526 million.
Additionally, it maintains level funding of $25 million for the Grow PA program, supported by Senate Republicans last year to assist young people in pursuing college education and job training programs aligned with Pennsylvania's workforce needs.
For three consecutive years, Shapiro has not included funding for Lifeline Scholarships or the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success program designed to provide children in underperforming schools with alternative educational opportunities better suited to their needs.
The budget also lacks new revenues or expenditures related to Shapiro's "Lightning" energy plan, leaving uncertainties regarding its impact on household budgets, grid reliability, or state finances.
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