Bridging a deficit in part by delaying some payments and reclaiming money from what they called the “couch cushions” of state government, lawmakers on Sunday approved a $50.8 billion budget for 2026-27 that immediately got the signature of Gov. Josh Shapiro.

The final product came together after lengthy and secretive negotiations among top Democrats and Republicans that culminated in a whirlwind of Sunday votes on massive bills that many rank-and-file lawmakers had just received. One, Republican Rep. Brad Roae of Crawford County, said he received more than 600 pages of budget-related bills Saturday evening ahead of the anticipated Sunday votes.

“It is a terrible, terrible process,” Roae said.

The budget was less than the $53.3 billion proposal Shapiro made in early February but fully funded major items considered high-profile by one party or the other, or both. Those included a continuation of major increases in K-12 education funding following a landmark 2023 court ruling and continued funding of tax credits for businesses that donate money for scholarships to allow children to attend private schools.

It also left untouched the state’s $7.7 billion “Rainy Day Fund,” which was a priority for Republicans.

But the deal also did not include taxing and regulating the estimated 70,000 so-called “skill games” around the state, a policy challenge lawmakers have faced for years. And, it did not deal with proposals to legalize recreational marijuana and to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour.

Local input

State Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, issued a statement Sunday. “This $50.8 billion budget is by no means perfect, but we can no longer afford the delays caused by House Democrats and must move the process forward,” Heffley said.

“This budget shows some fiscal responsibility, as it is a reduction of nearly $2.5 billion from what the governor originally proposed.”

Heffley said the budget delivers funding for local schools, including career and technical education. It includes investments in the SHINE After School Program and makes no funding changes to Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs.

He added, “The budget agreement puts in more safeguards strengthening water and energy reporting requirements and gives the Department of Environmental Protection additional oversight over data center development in the Commonwealth.”

He said, about $775 million will go to rural roads and bridges, supporting projects that have been awaiting critical funding.

“If you search through this budget, you will certainly find holes, but this is the best deal we were going to get for now,” Heffley said.

Sen. Dave Argall, R-29, said, “This is the most important vote we’ll cast this year,” Argall said. “While it’s unusual for us to be at the Capitol on Saturdays and Sundays, this was necessary to finally move the annual budget legislation to the governor’s desk.”

Some of the increases to districts include: Jim Thorpe Area School District, $162,956 increase (2.1%); Lehighton Area School District, $964,696 increase (6%); Palmerton Area School District, $465,299 increase (4.1%); Panther Valley School District, $2,201,447 increase (10.1%); Weatherly Area School District, $181,411 increase (3.2%); and Tamaqua Area School District, $1,660,638 increase (10.3%).

The process

For the last few years, Republicans have pointed repeatedly to figures showing the state spends $3 billion to $6 billion more than it brings in revenue. On Sunday, they told of several ways negotiators got past that fact, including the squeezing of $4.5 billion over two years of unspent or “found” money from various government accounts.

Another was delaying various payments by a few months — a tactic that would take them off the books for 2026-27 and put them in a different fiscal year. And, negotiators were helped by the fact that revenue for 2025-26 came in more than $1 billion above estimates.

Shapiro, in comments before he signed the spending bill early Sunday evening, said Democrats and Republicans bridged “profound differences.” The fact that the divided Legislature was able to come to a deal, he said, showed that “we bring people together to solve problems.”

Shapiro noted that early in his administration, commitments were made on the trio of goals of “funding our schools, making our communities safe, (and) growing our economy” and all were reflected in the new budget.

Separately, Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward of Westmoreland County said residents would have faced a $2,000 tax increase had the Legislature “rubber-stamped” Shapiro’s original proposal. Republicans, she said, were pleased that Shapiro and Democrats who control the House understood that “affordability” meant respecting taxpayers.

The Republican Majority Leader in the Senate, Sen. Joe Pittman of Indiana County, called the spending plan “imperfectly good” and said it keeps the state on “a promising path for the future.”

The final Senate vote on the main budget bill was 44-6, with “no” votes coming from Republicans Dawn Keefer of York County, Jarrett Coleman of Lehigh County, Scott Hutchinson of Venango County, and Doug Mastriano of Franklin County; and Democrats Katie Muth of Chester County and Nikil Saval of Philadelphia.

In the House, the approval vote was 167-35. All the negative votes were Republican.

Coleman said budget negotiators chose to delay a massive amount of Medicaid payments to managed care providers in a deceptive “accounting gimmick” that made the budget appear to work.

“Instead of finding efficiencies, the government continues to spend money it doesn’t really have. Mark my words, taxpayers will ultimately pay the price for this charade,” Coleman said.

Keefer criticized the budget’s spending beyond revenue and its reliance on one-time revenue sources without policy changes that would alter long-term fiscal management.

Another Republican, Rep. David Maloney of Berks County, invoked the name of the infamous outlaw Jesse James. The outlaw, Maloney said, never stole money on a Sunday.

He said the budget used various nefarious tactics to take money from taxpayers and give it to special interests. By holding the vote on a Sunday, Maloney said lawmakers had outdone “even the most famous bank robber in American history.”