The Center Square) – Democrats celebrated alongside Gov. Josh Shapiro at the Capitol today as he signed the state’s long overdue budget into law.
Shapiro touted the bill as a bipartisan effort, though he acknowledged the struggle to bring Democratic leadership in the House and Republican leadership in the Senate together.
“I would have loved to have stood here with all of you and signed a budget into law on June 30th of this year, but Pennsylvania is one of just a handful of states with a divided legislature,” said Shapiro. “It requires all of us to compromise, have tough conversations, and ultimately, find common ground. I worked hard all summer and fall to get leaders in the General Assembly to come together and hash out their differences.”
To do so, the governor said Democrats “held the line” against “short-sighted attempts to cut health care services and slash critical initiatives.”
Despite the tension, the state’s fragile agreement symbolizes, for some, a distinction from divisions at the national level.
“What happened here in this building really stands as a testament and a contrast to the chaos and the confusion that we see coming out of Washington D.C.,” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis. “Folks in D.C. have forgotten who they were sent there to represent. They’ve turned public service into a zero sum game, too focused on who’s winning, who’s losing, which side is getting hurt, and which side is doing the hurting.”
Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, D-Norristown, shared Davis’s sentiment.
“As Americans navigate the longest federal government shutdown in history, struggle to put food on the table because of an unlivable minimum wage coupled with dramatic inflation, and bear the brunt of Trump’s tariffs, it’s up to our state legislature to provide as much stability and support as we can for families,” said Cappelletti. “While the state missed the mark on passing a timely budget which left our communities feeling the pinch, I’m hopeful the compromise we’ve come to provides much-needed relief across the Commonwealth.”
Cappelletti was among a host of Democratic leaders who issued remarks on the bill’s passage.
“After four difficult months without a budget, cooler heads finally prevailed to deliver an agreement that moves Pennsylvania forward,” said Sen. Tim Kearney, D-Media. “While a legislative compromise like this in a divided government will always include disappointing trade-offs, this budget ultimately advances progress for our communities that Democrats have been fighting for and delivering on in recent years.”
The senator’s message wasn’t without significant criticism for his Republican colleagues and frustration for the issues left to be addressed another year, however.
“PA Senate Republicans have held this budget up for months with nonsensical demands, unreasonable resistance to new revenues like legalizing and taxing adult-use cannabis, and careless disregard for the needs of our communities,” said Kearney. “Because a faction of hard-right Republican senators still refuses to vote for a realistic budget, Senate Democrats had to step up to secure enough votes for this deal to pass. Though many of us are frustrated that the budget prevents Pennsylvania from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) at this time and lacks critical funding for SEPTA and other transit agencies, we are doing what is necessary to put an end to this budget madness, with a promise that we will keep fighting for transit and clean-energy progress.”
House Speaker Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, highlighted the more than $500 million investment in underfunded schools to satisfy the state’s court-mandated correction of historical inequities in its school system. She also celebrated the long-coveted earned income tax credit for working people and the renewal of grants for public safety initiatives.
“While it took too long, I was resolved to secure a budget that reflects our shared values by investing in our schools, families, and communities, and this plan satisfies those conditions,” said McClinton.
Some of the party’s most progressive members were less enthusiastic about the final product, staying back from the bill signing. Two Democratic Senators, Katie Muth of Royersford and Nikil Saval of Philadelphia, joined some of the Senate’s most conservative members in voting against the bill.
“A basic requirement of government is to support its people in meeting their needs. Over the past 12 months, the cost of living has continued to rise throughout our country,” said Saval. “Pennsylvanians are struggling to make ends meet under a barrage of steep inflation rates, high tariffs, and slashed federal services. Our people deserve more investment from their government than what we delivered today—which is why I voted no.”
If not a total victory, Wednesday’s conclusion gave Democrats, at the very least, some space to breathe, with Saval noting that the state “will have another budget in just a few months.”
“This budget is progress,” said Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia. “It delivers meaningful relief and targeted investments that will make a difference in people’s lives, but we can and must continue to do better to ensure every Pennsylvanian has the opportunity to live, work, and thrive with dignity.”
