Harrisburg, PA − July 11, 2024 – Today, the Pennsylvania Senate and House passed a $47.59B dollar budget that makes significant investments in basic education, higher education, public safety, health and human services, and economic development.
Senator Jay Costa, Senate Democratic Leader, and Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, said the following about Pennsylvania’s new budget:
“I am happy to report that today, we passed a budget bill, a school code, a tax code, and a fiscal code. Our discussions these past few weeks were very productive, and the Senate Democratic Caucus was proud to fight for a number of our priorities,” said Senator Costa. “This budget makes significant investments in the issues Pennsylvanians find important and impactful. We have invested over $1 billion new dollars into pre-k to 12 education funding, and a $900 million increase to address our education adequacy needs and basic education funding. In the space of economic development, there is over $45 million for new programs that support new jobs and businesses, including funding for the PA SITES program. We also got a $40 million increase for affordable housing through the PHARE Housing Program over 4 years. I am personally very proud that we doubled our investment in the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to a total of $10 million to protect the spaces in our communities that serve vulnerable groups. There is so much more to celebrate, and also much more work to do to deliver for every Pennsylvanian. I am so grateful for my colleagues and staff for getting this budget over the finish line.”
“This budget makes a historic downpayment on our responsibility to fix Pennsylvania’s education funding system with an increase of over $1B for Pre-K to 12 education funding,” said Senator Hughes. “I along with a number of advocates, educators, and students have been in the fight to fix Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional education system for 10 years, and tonight we’re taking an important step forward to right that egregious wrong. Our work isn’t finished but this budget marks a significant milestone for Pennsylvania’s public education system.
I’m also proud to see the Commonwealth move forward with long overdue investments and reform for our higher education system. Democrats started leading on this issue in 2017 with our PA Promise plan and then requirements on higher ed transparency and accountability. We’ve finally got something across the finish line that will improve access and affordability for students and families, and ultimately improve our workforce. It’s gratifying to see the groundwork we started to lay 7 years ago with PA Promise result in a serious change for PA higher education.
Overall, we’re delivering big increases for education, affordable housing, public safety, and a number of new investments in economic development initiatives. The investments we’re making in this budget will have a significant impact on opportunities and growth for Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth. Of course, with a divided government, there’s more that Democrats will be fighting for as we make future appropriations, but we’ve made a solid stride forward with what we’ve passed today.”
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HARRISBURG, PA – February 6, 2024 – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro laid out his vision and priorities for the 2024-25 Pennsylvania Budget. In it, the Governor proposed historic increases in basic education spending, economic development, housing, community safety, and healthcare.
“Today’s budget proposal is a very solid plan to deliver for every Pennsylvanian. It’s a thorough, bold plan to open the doors of opportunity in a myriad of areas,” said Senator Costa. “From historic investments in basic education funding to laying out an aggressive economic development plan, this budget prepares Pennsylvania’s students and workers for a vibrant future in our commonwealth. I look forward to continuing to bring all parties to the table as we go forward through this budget process.”
“This budget prioritizes the urgent need for Pennsylvania to invest in our public schools and fix our unconstitutional education system. I applaud the Governor’s commitment to fully and adequately fund public schools and take action on the recommendations of our Basic Education Funding Commission. We have the money. And it’s far past time we fix our schools and ensure that future generations never have to walk into a crumbling school or lack educational tools they need to succeed,” said Senator Hughes. “And the Governor’s plans to invest in our teachers and toxic schools is another important piece of the puzzle to fix our schools. Without sufficient, well-trained, and experienced teachers, and safe and healthy school buildings, our investments in basic education will not go far.
Overall, this budget proposal embraces forward progress and answers to kitchen table concerns of Pennsylvanians. If we make focused investments in areas like education, affordable housing, gun violence, and economic development now, we’ll yield tremendous opportunity for the future. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Governor to make these important investments a reality for the people of Pennsylvania.”
The Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus has laid out its vision to deliver For Every Pennsylvanian. This year’s budget includes important developments on some crucial areas, including:
- $1.4 billion toward fixing Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional and inadequate education funding system
- Over $38 million for teacher support and recruitment
- Over $100 million for solutions to end gun violence
- Over $600 million for economic development
- $50 million for the Whole Home Repairs program
- A $15/hour minimum wage
- An additional $5 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant, bringing the total to $10 million
- An additional $238 million for mass transit across PA
- $11 million to cap abandoned wells
- $3 million for menstrual hygiene products for school students
More information about the caucus’s priorities is available at PASenate.com/priorities.
Footage of today’s press conference is available at PASenate.com/budget. Downloadable footage is available upon request.
HARRISBURG, PA – Today, members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic caucus praise Governor Shapiro’s new blueprint for higher education, which seeks to expand access to higher education for Pennsylvania’s learners while consolidating governance and moving towards a more predictable, performance-based funding formula.
“I greet the Governor’s higher education blueprint with excitement. As we grapple with dysfunction in higher education and the burdens of student loan debt, we must reimagine our systems in Pennsylvania to set up our students for success and prepare them for the demands of the modern workforce,” said Senator Costa. “The Governor’s plan will strengthen our State System of Higher Education and our community colleges, make higher education more affordable for those who want to seek it, and provide a better governance structure providing for better continuity in our workforce training pipeline and for transparency and accountability. I look forward to continued conversations with all partners and stakeholders coming to the table as we go forward in developing this plan.”
Senator Costa is a proud alumnus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as the Community College of Allegheny County, where he presently serves as a board member.
Senator Vincent Hughes, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, said the following:
“The Governor’s proposal has the potential to transform higher education in Pennsylvania. Making higher education affordable has been priority for me and members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, and I applaud Governor Shapiro’s focus on tackling Pennsylvania’s shortcomings head on. I look forward to hearing more and working with him to make the Commonwealth’s higher education offerings the best in the nation.”
State Senator Judy Schwank, who sits on the PASSHE board of governors, said the following:
“The Governor has proposed an innovative plan to revitalize higher education in the Commonwealth. During my tenure as a PASSHE board member, I’ve come to recognize the necessity of approaching higher education in a more comprehensive manner. This blueprint is a great starting point that I am excited to support and help further develop.”
Governor Shapiro’s blueprint is accessible in full here. Among other things, the blueprint seeks to:
- Create a new system for higher education that unites the PASSHE universities and 15 community colleges under a new governance system
- Cap tuition at $1000/semester for learners making up to the median income in Pennsylvania
- Fund institutions of higher education on a performance-based formula that incentivize increased enrollment, graduation rate, and workforce development in areas of shortage, specifically education and nursing.
Learn more about the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus’ commitment to an excellent education for every Pennsylvanian here.
HARRISBURG – February 8, 2022 – Governor Tom Wolf gave his final budget address today to a joint Pennsylvania House and Senate Session. The proposed budget invests in Pennsylvanians through education, workforce development, criminal justice reform, public health investments, and raising the minimum wage – without calling for a single tax increase.
“I am very pleased with the proposed budget that the Governor presented today because it gives us the ability to truly invest in Pennsylvanians. We are in an excellent position, with an estimated $6 billion budget surplus, to fund programs and initiatives that help Pennsylvania’s live the full and prosperous lives they deserve,” Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa said.
Investments in education include $1.55 billion increase in basic education, $200 million in special education, $60 million in Pre-K Counts and $10 million for Head Start Supplemental Assistance, $300 in Level Up funding to 100 school districts with the highest needs, and $77.7 million in federal funds to make childcare more affordable. Proposed investments of over $180 million across higher education programs and a total of $200 million for Nellie Bly scholarships to help PASSHE students.
Further investments include $35 million in grants and technical assistance through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for community-led gun violence prevention efforts and $1 million for reentry services to assist women by giving them the best opportunity to start fresh and reduce recidivism.
Making sure that Pennsylvania workers earn a living wage has been a long-time priority of the Senate Democratic Caucus and this budget proposes an immediate e increase of state minimum wage to $12 per hour, with an annual increase of $.50 per hour until all minimum wage employees reach $15 per hour.
“This budget gives us the opportunity to make the critical investments that Pennsylvania needs in our schools, communities, and workforce. Now is the time to put this money into the programs that fund the future of this commonwealth. We must use the surplus of this budget to show Pennsylvanians that we see where they are struggling, and we are supporting a budget that gives them the support where they need it,” Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes said.
For more information on the 2022-2023 budget, visit pasenate.com/budget.
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Harrisburg, Pa. – June 25, 2021 – Pennsylvania State Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa today voted in support of the state budget for Fiscal Year 2021-22.
The final budget package included bipartisan and bicameral compromises, but Senator Costa highlighted several important investments it made this year.
“This isn’t the budget I would have designed and in many ways, I feel that it does not take full advantage of the unprecedented resources we have from a budget surplus and the federal American Rescue Plan – but this is a process of compromise, and there is a lot here that I support,” said Senator Costa. “We are seeing major levels of new and equitable funding in education, and that’s been something my caucus and I have fought for over many years. Further, we are still in recovery from a pandemic that ravaged our state for more than a year and it was important to me that we fund critical state programs with an on-time budget.”
Increased education line items this year include:
- $300 million in basic education
- $200 million to be funded through the Fair Funding Formula
- $100 million for Level Up, a new program to provide funding for schools that have been historically inadequately funded
- $20 million for Ready to Learn block grants
- $25 million for Pre K Counts
- $5 million for Headstart
- $50 million for special education
- $11 million for early intervention
- $200 million for PASSHE, over 4 years, including funding for the Diversity, Education & Inclusion program proposed by the PA Senate Democrats
Earlier this year, Pennsylvania was allocated $7 billion in funds from the American Rescue Plan and until this budget they remained unspent, despite a bold proposal from the Senate Democratic Caucus, a New Deal for PA. Of those dollars, $4 billion will go to balancing this year’s budget and more than $2 billion remains for future spending.
“The American Rescue Plan was designed to help people get back on their feet, not just balance spreadsheets,” said Senator Costa. “It is my hope, and a major goal of this caucus, to spend the remaining funds directly on the programs and initiatives that will help folks recover from the personal, public health, and economic devastation of 2020.”
The final budget also moves $2 billion in revenue surplus into the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
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For more information on the New Deal for PA, please visit pasenate.com/newdeal
