HARRISBURG — Governor Josh Shapiro signed Pennsylvania's $50.8 billion 2026-27 state budget into law on Sunday afternoon, following the Pennsylvania Senate’s 44-6 approval of House Bill 2400 earlier that day. The enactment came 12 days after the state’s statutory deadline, with the new fiscal year having begun July 1.

The approved budget totals nearly $51 billion, an increase of approximately $1.8 billion over the previous year’s spending plan but more than $2 billion below Shapiro’s original $53.26 billion proposal introduced in February. It preserves the state’s nearly $8 billion rainy day fund and includes pension increases for public school retirees as well as eligible municipal firefighters and police officers.

The budget does not legalize recreational marijuana or raise the state’s minimum wage. Shapiro said the measure “will deliver on his key priorities of cutting costs for working families, investing in new public safety measures, and expanding the workforce in the Commonwealth.”

Representative Tim O'Neal, a supporter of the budget, said, “We all hoped this could be completed on time, but working a few extra days resulted in a better product.” He added, “We were able to reduce the amount of spending proposed by the governor, thus allowing us not to tap into the rainy day fund,” and noted, “This will be key in holding off tax increases in future years.”

Representative Grimm Krupa criticized the budget, stating, “This is another structurally deficit budget that spends more than Pennsylvania is expected to take in.” He argued that lawmakers used “accounting gimmicks designed to make the budget appear more balanced than it truly is,” explaining that “a fiscal year consists of 12 months, yet this budget only accounts for 11 months of certain obligations by pushing the remaining month’s costs into the next fiscal year.” Krupa added, “The bills don’t disappear simply because they’re moved to a different ledger,” calling the approach “voodoo budgeting.”