HARRISBURG – AP is reporting… Gov. Josh Shapiro is set to deliver a second budget proposal to Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday with a firmer grasp on how he wants to pursue several top priorities, his state in a relatively strong fiscal position and lessons learned from last year’s ugly budget fight.
Most details of the Democratic governor’s budget plan for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which starts July 1, remain under wraps. But Shapiro has made it clear he will seek more money for higher education and public transit agencies and possibly underfunded public schools.
He also wants to spend more money to attract major companies and seems ready to revisit the controversial item that helped sow a protracted budget fight last year: creating a new private school voucher program.
Shapiro’s first budget proposal disappointed many allies who felt it wasn’t bold enough. This year, he’s returning with bigger proposals based on recommendations from his task forces or appointees. Shapiro faces a number of cost pressures, too, from health care for the poor to county-run mental health services.
One other difference this year is that Shapiro is expected to deliver his budget address to a joint session of the House and Senate in the Capitol Rotunda. Governors historically deliver the speech in the House chamber, but workers have put up scaffolding there to repair damage from a water leak a year ago.
