Proposed Budget Highlights
The governor’s budget for fiscal 2027 focuses on affordability, including reducing energy and housing costs, promoting economic development, investing in education and the workforce, and strengthening public safety. Highlights of the budget include:
Economic Development & Technology
- Provides additional funding for the PA First Program to support businesses and increase investment and job creation within the commonwealth.
- Establishes the Innovate in PA 2.0 program, funded through Insurance Premium Tax Credits, to expand venture capital access and increase investment in life sciences, biotech, and other industries.
- Increases support for agriculture innovation grants, including for a county biodigester pilot project.
- Transfers additional sales & use tax revenues to the Pennsylvania Transportation Trust Fund beginning July 1, 2027 to provide more stable recurring revenue for mass transit.
- Recommends various environmental and community protections to promote responsible data center development.
- Calls for state agencies to create guidance for safe AI use, as well as calls for legislative protections such as age verification.
Education
- Provides additional funds through the state adequacy formula and tax equity supplements.
- Continues to achieve budgetary savings through cyber charter school reform.
- Calls for the legislature to pass a bell-to-bell cell phone ban in schools.
- Implements performance-based funding for state universities.
- Increases funds for the state’s financial aid grant program and continues funding Grow PA scholarships.
Workforce Development
- Invests in career readiness programs including career-technical education, apprenticeships, and workforce training.
- Increases funds for Industry Partnership grants, a new Career Connect program, and adult and family literacy programs.
- Expands investments in bonuses for childcare employees and provides additional funds to help providers raise wages.
- Increases funds for teacher professional development and for student teacher stipends.
- Removes barriers for individuals reentering the workforce after incarceration and includes funds to provide Medicaid coverage for those reentering the community.
Public Safety
- Increases funding for violence intervention and prevention and adds funds for the after-school Building Opportunity through Out of School Time (BOOST) program.
- Invests in additional state trooper classes and eliminates the statutory cap on the number of troopers.
- Expands competitive grants for fire companies and provides death and workers’ compensation benefits to first responders while deployed during a disaster emergency.
- Consolidates multiple county-based funding streams for supervision, re-entry, and treatment services into one appropriation.
Regulatory Reforms
- Provides funds to modernize and accelerate permitting, licensing, and business processing systems.
- Streamlines licensure requirements for Licensed Social Workers to help them obtain credentials more easily and attract top talent.
- Calls on the legislature to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which would reduce workers’ reliance on public assistance and generate additional revenue from taxes on higher wages.
- Advances the Governor’s “Lightning Plan” to reform permitting and siting laws and make other reforms to increase energy reliability and affordability, and create jobs.
Other
- Behavioral Health: Provides dedicated state funding for 988 crisis hotline, additional funds for walk-in crisis stabilization centers, and invests in community-based services.
- Child Welfare: Proposes funds to expand call-taker staffing and training for the ChildLine hotline.
- Older Adults: Invests in modernizing PA Link, the state’s Aging and Disability Resource Center network.
- Tax Credits: Proposes updates to make various tax credits under the Pennsylvania Economic Development for a Growing Economy (PA EDGE) more accessible and effective.
- Housing: Advances a set of investments and reforms to expand housing access, protect renters and homeowners, and strengthen cross-agency coordination.
- Infrastructure: Proposes a Pennsylvania Critical Infrastructure Investment program, supported with general obligation bonds, to provide flexible funding for large, transformative projects.