Can the big ambitions in Shapiro’s latest Pa. budget surmount opposition from GOP lawmakers? | Editorial

Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered an ambitious plan for Pennsylvania during his annual budget address to the General Assembly, outlining the need to invest in the commonwealth’s people, infrastructure, and industries if the state is to remain competitive in the 21st century. Shapiro’s proposals, which include devoting money to schools, transportation, and housing, are welcome and needed. Still, the governor has challenges to overcome if he is to deliver on promises made.

Like many states post-pandemic, Pennsylvania is now operating at a deficit as the flow of federal COVID-19 money has dried up. In order to fund the $51.5 billion worth of spending, Shapiro has proposed tapping into the state’s Rainy Day Fund to the tune of $1.6 billion — an idea that has already drawn the ire of Harrisburg Republicans, who have cast Shapiro’s budget as an irresponsible “fantasy.”

Given the Republican majority in the Senate and a slim Democratic majority in the House, the budget must win the approval of GOP lawmakers who deride the governor as a spendthrift whose goals will lead to tax increases.

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The biggest beneficiaries of the new budget are the state’s public school systems, which might be expected given Republican Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer’s 2023 ruling that years of underfunding have violated the state constitution’s mandate that lawmakers provide a “thorough and efficient” education to students.

Shapiro has proposed spending an additional $700 million on public education. Given the court ruling, the growing teacher shortage, and the potential dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, this additional spending is necessary.

Some officials at the local level, including Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, have even expressed a desire for more, given this proposal is around $400 million less than the increase Shapiro proposed in 2024.

One way for the legislature to fund education without overburdening taxpayers would be to take up Shapiro’s proposal to cap tuition rates at cyber charter schools, which currently vary across districts despite offering identical services to each student.

Doing so would divert hundreds of millions of dollars from private operators to local school systems. Instead, many Republicans have focused on the need for private school vouchers, which would add additional costs to the bill.

Proposed increases to transit funding are another essential component of Shapiro’s budget. While most Pennsylvanians drive to work, the state’s transit systems provide more than a million rides every day, and the growing return to in-person work as COVID wanes has boosted those figures. Public transit also facilitates untold billions in economic activity

Shapiro failed to come through on a similar pledge to support transit during last year’s budget negotiations. The governor, nevertheless, helped stave off planned service cuts at SEPTA by transferring federal highway funds to the agency, a move that was decried by Republicans.

» READ MORE: Gov. Shapiro helped keep SEPTA going, but a long-term solution is needed | Editorial

Hoping to build more support for his transit funding plan this time around, Shapiro has again offered to fund both transit systems and rural roads. The governor has proposed additional revenue sources, from taxing so-called skill games and recreational cannabis. While more gambling is not what the state needs, the fact is that both gaming and marijuana are already freely available to Pennsylvanians, either at existing unregulated gaming stations or by venturing to weed dispensaries in neighboring states. Right now, the state is absorbing the negatives without gaining a nickel in tax revenue to serve residents.

Given the existential nature of this funding for SEPTA, local Democrats must use their own leverage in the House to ensure transit funding remains in the budget until it is signed this year, rather than trusting in unreliable promises to talk again after summer vacation.

One area in need of more bold thinking is housing. While Shapiro cited the 100,000-unit shortage of homes and apartments, his plans fall short of what is needed to fill it. By following the lead of proposals like Massachusetts’ MBTA Communities Act, which requires towns that benefit from transit spending to allow for more housing construction near stations, the state can both unleash needed housing and help transit agencies like SEPTA pay more of their own costs by supplying additional ridership along routes.