Local lawmakers react to Shapiro’s proposed budget
State lawmakers in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties reacted negatively to the 2026-27 state budget proposal Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered at the State Capitol in Harrisburg Tuesday.
Shapiro, a Democrat who is seeking re-election this year and is considered a likely contender for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028, unveiled a $53.3 billion budget plan for the year starting July 1 and ending June 30, 2027, that would, among other things, continue to boost education spending, increase bonuses for child care workers and create standards for data centers.
All the state lawmakers in the region are Republicans. Their party has argued that Shapiro’s wish list, if passed as is, would require the state to dip into its Rainy Day Fund. Shapiro has countered that more revenue would be generated by raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, making adult-use marijuana legal and regulating skill games.
Shapiro said the budget does not include any tax increases. He remarked, “I know some of you try to score political points by saying it does – but saying that doesn’t make it true.”
State Rep. Tim O’Neal, who represents the Washington area and is the GOP whip in the state House, said in a statement, “I feel like a broken record. The affordability crisis is real and people are struggling. This proposal by Gov. Shapiro is irresponsible and will contribute to rising costs across the state. We cannot continue to rely on new taxes and accounting tricks to fill in the gaps.”
Jason Ortitay, who represents parts of northern Washington County and southern Allegheny County, said, “This budget spends billions more dollars than last year, drains nearly 60% of the state’s savings account and still leaves families dealing with the same things they were dealing with yesterday: high property taxes, rising costs and schools that aren’t getting results for kids who are struggling.”
The Rainy Day Fund, according to state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa, “was never meant to finance ambition or mask structural imbalance. It exists for storms, not fair-weather excess.”
Grimm Krupa, whose district includes Uniontown, also said Shapiro’s budget proposal “is a gamble at best – one that increases spending by more than $2.7 billion in a single year while resting on revenues that do not exist, have not been authorized or may be unlawful, including taxes on skill games and recreational marijuana.”
State Rep. Bud Cook, whose district includes all of Greene County and part of Washington County, said the governor is “proposing a budget that overspends, over-commits and overlooks the need for fiscal responsibility.”
Cook added, “We need to be looking at policies that unleash Pennsylvania’s energy sector … We have the potential to fully use the abundant energy resources under our feet to create jobs, lower costs and strengthen our economy.”
The governor’s budget proposal is the opening salvo in a months-long process of negotiation between the governor and Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly. It is often contentious. The deadline to complete a budget is June 30, but lawmakers have missed that goal a handful of times in recent years. Last year’s budget was finally signed by Shapiro on Nov. 12, 135 days after the deadline.