Next week will be the start of budget hearings in both the PA House and Senate.
Starting next Tuesday and continuing for three weeks, the State House and Senate Appropriations Committees will meet with different departments of the state government to go over the 2024-25 budget. The budget proposed by Governor Josh Shapiro would top out at $48.3 billion, a $3.7 billion increase over the previous budget. He claims that the budget will contain an $11 million surplus by the end of the fiscal year next year, and it contains no tax hikes to Pennsylvania residents. Shapiro’s budget includes a $1.1 billion increase in spending for public schools, increases in spending for public transportation and for higher education as well.
Shapiro’s budget did not receive a positive reaction from State Senator Joe Pittman and State Representative Jim Struzzi, who both sit on their respective chambers’ appropriations committees. Pittman said that Shapiro’s use of one-time dollars for recurring expenses will result in economic problems down the road, while Struzzi called the budget an “unnecessary raid on our reserves” and future governors would have to raise taxes.
The hearings start next Tuesday, with the senate hearing from the independent fiscal office and the department of corrections and state parole board. The house will talk with DCED and the Department of Revenue.
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