What does Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget pay for?

Adopting a comprehensive solution on K-12 education in Pennsylvania.

$1.1 billion in new funding for schools, nearly 900 million dollars of which will be sent to support school children under a new adequacy formula to ensure every school has the appropriate level of resources they need.

A $50 million increase in special education funding.

$30 million in Pre-K programs to help recruit and retain teachers who can get kids off to a great start.

Continued funding for universal free breakfast during the school year and a new summer food service program.

$1.5 billion over five years to repair schools and make them healthy and safe.

Building affordable pathways to a college education.

Unites the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and Community Colleges under a new governance system and proposes a $975 million investment in that new system.

Calls for a 5 percent increase in institutional support for the Commonwealth’s state-related universities – Penn State, Temple, Lincoln, and Pitt.

Beginning in 2025-26, increases PHEAA state grants by $1,000, bringing the maximum award up from $5,750 to $6,750.

Allows for a college degree from the newly formed system for no more than $1,000 a semester.

Allowing the Pennsylvania economy to compete and win regionally, nationally, and globally.

Provides $500 million in bond funding to expand the Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites Program within DCED to fund on-site development for priority industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing.

$20 million to support large-scale innovation and leverage Pennsylvania’s best-in-class research and development assets.

Allocates $3.5 million to create and launch the Pennsylvania Regional economic Competitiveness Challenge to provide different geographic regions with the resources they need to plan and implement localized economic development strategies.

Calls for a $25 million investment to establish a new Main Street Matters program, to improve capacity for local governments and provide flexible resources to revitalize neighborhoods.

Invests $10.3 million in agriculture innovation, important funding that will help support and attract new agricultural businesses, including energy and conservation endeavors.

Permitting review that moves at the speed of business.

Over $10 million in funding for the Department of Environmental Protection to increase permitting staff at regional offices across the Commonwealth and to upgrade, improve, and modernize permitting IT systems.

Legalizing adult use cannabis.

Legalization effective July 1, 2024. Sales effective January 1, 2025.

$5 million of proceeds for restorative justice initiatives, in addition to the immediate record expungement of those incarcerated for only a possession-related offense.

Supporting public transportation.

Under Governor Shapiro’s plan, transit systems across Pennsylvania will receive $1.5 billion over the next five years — $40 million for PRT in Allegheny County and $6 million for LANTA in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the first year alone.

The budget increases the Commonwealth’s investment in SEPTA by $161 million, bringing the total state funding to $1 billion.

That investment of $161 million would also trigger an automatic match of 15% from local counties, raising another $24 million for SEPTA this year.

With the funding under this proposal, SEPTA wouldn’t have to cut service or raise fares, and has assured the administration they’ll have a concrete plan for a cleaner, safer public transit system.

Ensuring all Pennsylvanians have the freedom to chart their own course & the opportunity to succeed.

Calls for $1.2 million to support labor law compliance to protect law-abiding businesses from unscrupulous competitors who skirt state labor laws that safeguard workers and fair competition.

Increases the Department of Labor and Industry’s investment in Industry Partnerships by $2.2 million to support the workforce development and workforce needs of Pennsylvania’s workers and businesses.

Includes $2 million to help businesses transition to skills-based hiring practices to ensure those who have the skills and experience but not a college degree, or the right degree, can find quality jobs with pay family-sustaining wages.

Proposes $2 million to build a one-stop-shop for career pathways to establish a single digital location for all career, education, and training resources.

Cutting Costs for Pennsylvanians.

Dedicates $4 million for medical debt relief for low-income Pennsylvanians and calls for healthcare providers to implement transparent practices to limit medical debt.

Includes $10 million for the Homeless Assistance Program, where rental assistance, bridge housing, emergency shelter, eviction prevention, and other innovative supportive housing services can be provided.

Provides $5 million in matching funds for cities and counties to ensure that tenants have access to legal representation in eviction proceedings and keep more Pennsylvanians in their homes.

Increases the cap on funding to address critical housing needs under the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement program to $100 million by 2027-78.

Proposes $5 million in flexible grant funding for cities and counties to address immediate housing needs at the local level until disaster relief or other funding can be identified and made available.

Invests $50 million to lower insurance premiums for an estimated 200,000 at-risk Pennsylvanians.

Proposes $50 million for the Whole Home Repairs program, to continue to provide direct assistance to homeowners and keep more families in their homes.

Supporting the well-being of Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and/or autism by providing adequate resources.

Invests $34.2 million in Community Waiver and $1.9 million in the Community Base Program which will allow the Department of Human Services to engage in a multi-year growth strategy to expand the number of individuals participating in home and community-based services programs.

Increases reimbursement rates by 12% by dedicating $214 million for the Community Waiver Program, $2.1 million in the Autism Intervention Program, and $1.1 million in the Community Base program.

These efforts will leverage $266 million in total federal funding to increase resources for providers of home and community-based services.

Provides $934,000 to add American Sign Language and English interpreter services to help Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and/or autism.

Supporting fair, free, and secure elections.

Allocates $5 million for the Department of State to communicate directly with voters, to spread accurate information, reduce the knowledge gap about voting, and ease the process of updating voter rolls.

Invests $474,000 to support additional election technical staff to assist counties, collection, and analysis of election-related data, and hiring full-time investigators to analyze allegations of unlawful voting.