Pennsylvania’s $50.85 billion 2026-27 budget builds on four years of targeted investments in affordability, safety and education
HARRISBURG, PA – July 12, 2026 – On Sunday, July 12, Senate Democrats joined House Democrats in the Governor’s Reception Room to participate in the signing of Pennsylvania’s 2026-2027 budget, a $50.85 billion spending plan that passed the House and Senate in a bipartisan fashion. This year’s budget makes key investments in key areas that impact the lives of Pennsylvanians, including:
- $8.3 billion for basic education, including $565 million in education funding for adequacy and equity
- $1.5 billion for special education
- $40 million for teacher scholarships
- $30 million for child care worker retention bonuses
- More than $200 million in tax relief for Pennsylvanians through the Pennsylvania Workers’ Tax Credit
- $23.7 million to invest in historically disadvantaged businesses
- $62.15 million for violence intervention and prevention programs
- $24.1 million for rape crisis centers
- $7 million for EBT chip cards
- $10 million for Pennsylvania fruit growers affected by April frosts
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa Allegheny County makes the following declaration on this occasion:
“I am very pleased with Pennsylvania’s 2026-2027 budget, which continues Senate Democrats’ strong trajectory of supporting spending plans that benefit every Pennsylvanian. Our caucus has successfully supported investments in public education, economic development, community safety and family affordability.”
“This budget builds on the incredible momentum we have built over the last three years, allocating money for equity and adequacy funding for our schools, support for recruiting and retaining child care workers, aid for farmers, improving our roads and innovation in life sciences research.
“Additionally, Senate Democrats finally secured long-overdue cost-of-living increases in this budget for our retired teachers, police officers and firefighters who have served our communities diligently and deserve a dignified retirement. While there is still more work to be done, I am glad I supported this commonsense, responsible budget and look forward to celebrating those dollars on the job in all 67 counties.”
Senate Democratic Appropriations Chairman Vincent Hughes Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties makes the following declaration:
“This is a mighty budget that will improve our schools, stimulate the local economy and aid address Pennsylvania’s affordability crisis. This plan provides our schools with adequate funding for a third year, ensuring that the General Assembly will fulfill its constitutional responsibility to fix our broken education funding system. This budget provides a much-needed cost-of-living raise in the form of pensions for retired teachers, police and firefighters. It includes gigantic investments that will raise the number of jobs. As part of this, The budget maintains tax relief programs that will put significant money back into people’s pockets.
Senate Democrats are acutely aware that every dollar counts, especially as families continue to struggle with rising costs for housing, utilities, groceries, gas, child care and health care. As the president turns his back on struggling Pennsylvanians, we are proud to present a state budget that puts Pennsylvanians first.
We say it every year, but the negotiation process between a divided government requires compromise. There are unfinished business that we are ready to solve. While the work has clearly not been done, we cannot ignore the significant investment we have secured in this year’s budget.”
Senator Costa’s comments on this year’s budget are available here.
Senator Hughes’ remarks are available here.
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