- 23 minutes ago
Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford/Fulton) said Sunday that the Fiscal Year 2026-27 state budget and related legislation passed the Pennsylvania General Assembly and now heads to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his expected signature.
“The budget passed by the General Assembly today continues our recent history of scouring every corner of state government for existing taxpayer dollars to avoid tax increases, cuts to government services or tapping into the Commonwealth’s Rainy Day fund,” Topper said.
“I am also glad to see important investments in education where we are combatting the ongoing issue of growing waitlists at career and technical centers, expanding the successful GROW PA program to ensure Pennsylvania’s graduates have incentive to stay here, and ensuring our largest state-related universities receive funding based upon meeting new performance metrics and accountability provisions.”
Topper also noted that the budget prioritizes improvements in rural Pennsylvania.
“The state budget we just passed makes critical investments in our transportation infrastructure so we can move ahead shovel-ready road and bridge projects in areas across Pennsylvania,” Topper added.
Despite the budget’s passage, Topper warned that work remains on reversing troubling fiscal trends in Pennsylvania to avoid tough budgetary decisions in the future.
“While revenues higher than budget estimates have shown some of the Republican-led policy wins in prior budgets are starting to have an impact, we must continue the work of providing pathways for significant economic growth and development in Pennsylvania if we stand any chance at reversing the challenging demographics of our ever-shrinking population,” Topper explained.
“Pennsylvania must use the tools at our disposal to create an environment welcoming to investment while getting government out of the way of job creators so we can continue righting the ship of economic growth and development in Pennsylvania.”
Causer Votes ‘Yes’ to 2026-27 State Budget
In a rare Sunday legislative session, the General Assembly approved and sent to the governor’s desk a $50.8 billion state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter) cast a vote in favor of the plan and its investments in core government services but also cautioned more work needs to be done to solidify the Commonwealth’s financial future.
He issued the following statement:
“Adopting the budget is one of our most important responsibilities as lawmakers, and I am pleased we were able to significantly reduce the amount of spending the governor proposed earlier this year while also funding core government services without tapping into the Rainy Day Fund in this year’s plan,” Causer said. “Most importantly, this budget also does not include any new or increased taxes for our hardworking families or our employers.
“While I have advocated for spending less, Pennsylvania is a diverse state with many different ideas and priorities. This is where negotiations landed us, and I believe it is a reasonable budget for the Commonwealth this year.
“However, it is vital we continue working to get spending under control while also advancing policies that will grow our economy. Our energy industry has great potential to boost jobs, opportunity and revenue in our Commonwealth. Government needs to get out of the way and allow the industry to flourish, cutting utility costs and ensuring our growing energy needs are met.”
