Gov. Josh Shapiro signs $50.8 billion state budget into law

PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the state budget into law on Sunday afternoon.

Gov. Shapiro officially signed the 2026-27 General Appropriations Act into law around 6:15 p.m.

It’s the fifth year in a row that the state budget has been overdue. Last year, the budget impasse lasted into November.

Lawmakers previously told Channel 11 that the stalemate this time around boiled down to how the budget is paid and a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling on skill machines complicating talks.

In his remarks, Gov. Shapiro repeatedly praised the divided legislature for finding compromise and consensus.

“This is the fourth year in a row where – despite working with one of the only divided legislatures in the country, where we have some really profound differences – we stayed at the table and brought Democrats and Republicans together to get stuff done, again," he said. “We managed to find compromise – without compromising our core values."

Some Democrats proposed dipping into the Rainy Day Fund. According to a release from PA Senate Republicans, the budget that passed will not require any results from the state’s emergency reserves. They say this sets the state on a "more sustainable path" while "avoiding potential bond downgrades and higher debt costs."

The new budget cuts taxes, invests in education and workforce development, offers a pension bump to retired school, state and emergency responders, funds projects to repair state roads, provides relief for farmers, supports crisis centers and requires data centers to report annual utility consumption to the state.

While the budget contained many compromises, Shapiro said he’s proud of avoiding any cuts to Medicaid and that all adequacy funding stayed.

Shapiro recognizes there’s more work to be done. Priorities he pointed out in his remarks include raising the minimum wage, funding mass transit, and expanding access to affordable housing.

"But once again, we’ve proven that here in Pennsylvania we can bring people together to solve problems, get stuff done, and build on the foundation we’ve laid," he said. “We’ve got to keep moving forward – because what we’re doing? It’s working."

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