Pennsylvania budget done

(The Center Square) – State lawmakers finalized the budget with no legislative days to spare in 2023.

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed both the Fiscal Code and the Education Code – two enabling bills that direct how the state should spend key pieces of the $45.5 billion budget signed in August – during an unusual late-night ceremony Wednesday.

“I ran for governor to deliver real, tangible solutions to the most pressing issues folks are facing every day, and the bipartisan bills I am signing tonight include more big wins for Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.

The development concludes a six-month slog to the finish line as the Senate and the House struggled to make a deal on school choice tax credits, block grants and student teacher stipends, among others.

Shapiro thanked both chambers for mending the rift that emerged in June when an agreement to include school vouchers in the spending plan fell apart. Although the governor and Senate Republicans both supported the proposal, House Democrats did not.

Senate leadership said the final two bills maintain fiscal responsibility while investing in hospitals, the 911 system, the state’s emergency savings account and school choice tax credits.

The latter had an increase of $150 million, bringing total available funds to $555 million. The Educational Improvement Tax Credit, or EITC, uses business donations to offer financial aid to private schools that often serve low-income students.

Some of the biggest surprises in the bill include a $208.2 million child and dependent care tax credit that will refund families up to $1,200 for one child and as much as $2,100 for two or more.

House Democratic leadership said the expansion came as a result of their fight “to support middle-class and working-class families.”

Shapiro will propose his next budget in February, which will restart the entire process. The annual spending plan is due on June 30.