Governor Shapiro Unveils 2024-25 Budget Proposal to Get Stuff Done, Create Opportunity, and Advance Real Freedom for All Pennsylvanians

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro presented his 2024-25 budget proposal to the General Assembly and to the people of Pennsylvania – sharing his ‘get stuff done’ approach and vision to create more opportunity and continue delivering real solutions to the most pressing issues Pennsylvanians face. By prioritizing economic opportunity and access to higher education, making historic investments in public education, supporting law enforcement and public safety, ensuring people receive the care they need, and funding critical initiatives to help Pennsylvanians from our cities to our farmlands – this budget will deliver real results for the Commonwealth.

“This year, we have a real chance to build safer communities, become more competitive economically, and invest in our students and their success – and this budget lays out a comprehensive and aggressive focus on doing just that without raising taxes and maintaining a surplus of $11 billion at the end of June 2025,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Since my first day in office, I’ve been focused on getting stuff done – and this budget will continue to create opportunity for every Pennsylvanian with historic investments in economic development, education, healthier and safer communities, and much more. I look forward to working with the General Assembly to continue to get stuff done for the good people of Pennsylvania, solve the most pressing problems we face, and meet this moment responsibly and with bipartisan compromise.”

The Governor’s 2024-25 budget proposal takes advantage of the Commonwealth’s significant surplus to invest in Pennsylvanians and their future. The budget proposal does not raise taxes and even if every initiative is funded, the Commonwealth will still have an $11 billion surplus by the end of FY2024-25.

During his first year in office, Governor Shapiro and his Administration got stuff done and accomplished a vast majority of the goals laid out in his first budget address – including expanding the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program for the first time in nearly 20 years, delivering universal free breakfast for 1.7 million K-12 students, implementing the largest-ever increase in basic education funding, providing mental health resources for students, investing in vo-tech and apprenticeship programs, allocating first-ever statewide funding for indigent defense, and more.

“As the Governor and I have traveled the Commonwealth since taking office, we’ve heard from Pennsylvanians about the most pressing challenges they face – and the Governor’s budget proposal makes critical investments to make their lives better and create ladders of opportunity,” said Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis. “The Shapiro-Davis budget will create more economic opportunity for all, make our communities safer and healthier, support students from Pre-K through high school and beyond, invest in our workforce, and help working families across the Commonwealth build generational wealth.”

Watch the Governor’s full budget address to a joint session of the House and Senate here. See here for the Governor’s full remarks as prepared for delivery.

Below, you can read more about the Governor’s 2024-25 budget proposal, and you can read the full budget in brief here.

Creating Opportunity by Building on Historic Education Investments & Making Progress to Support Every Pennsylvania Child

In the 2023-24 budget, Governor Shapiro delivered the largest increase in K-12 basic education funding in Pennsylvania history and secured universal free breakfast for 1.7 million students.

This budget builds on that historic progress by acting on the work of the Basic Education Funding Commission and delivering a comprehensive solution on K-12 education in Pennsylvania. Governor Shapiro knows ensuring all Pennsylvania children have the opportunity to succeed is critical to our Commonwealth’s future – and that is why he is proposing investments to fully fund public schools, support our teachers, and provide high-quality, affordable, and accessible childcare and early learning opportunities for families.

Continued Historic Investments in Basic Education Funding

• Building on the progress made in the 2023-24 budget, the 2024-25 budget proposal includes a historic nearly $1.1 billion increase in basic education funding – the largest increase in Pennsylvania history, recognizing the work of the BEFC and the need to direct these investments to the schools that need them the most.

• Of this significant increase, nearly $900 million is proposed as a first-year adequacy investment as recommended by the BEFC. The remaining $200 million will be distributed through the Basic Education Funding Formula.

Funding Special Education and Protecting Vulnerable Students

• Additionally, this budget includes supports for Pennsylvania students in their classrooms, including a $50 million increase for special education funding to ensure school districts have the basic resources necessary to provide special education services to students with disabilities and special needs.  

Ensuring Safe and Healthy School Facilities

• Pennsylvania students cannot receive an adequate education if their classrooms aren’t safe and healthy to learn in and for teachers to work in. The 2024-25 budget calls for continuing a $50 million annual investment in school safety and security improvements and $300 million in sustainable funding for environmental repair projects in school buildings.

• These investments will help schools address the environmental issues that threaten the health, safety, and opportunity of students. 

Recruiting and Retaining the Talent Our Schools and Students Need

Schools across the Commonwealth are facing critical staff shortages – particularly those serving low-income students and students of color – and helping to fill staffing gaps for critical teacher and education positions is an essential part of ensuring every student has the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.

• The 2024-25 budget invests $10 million for the Educator Talent Recruitment Account and $450,000 to support the Talent Recruitment Office at the Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide sustainable funding for colleges to increase participation in the education workforce by covering tuition, fees, supplies or other costs that serve as barriers to secondary school students enrolling in college coursework prior to high school graduation.  

• To further strengthen the educator pipeline and put more teachers in Pennsylvania classrooms, the Governor’s budget increases funding for student teacher stipends by $5 million to a total of $15 million to support Pennsylvanians training to become certified and committed educators in the Commonwealth.

Creating Opportunity by Ensuring All Pennsylvanians Have the Freedom to Chart Their Own Course & the Opportunity to Succeed

Investments in Our Workforce and Innovations That Create Opportunity

Governor Shapiro has been focused on creating opportunities for Pennsylvanians to get good-paying jobs and championing skills-based hiring and workforce development. This budget invests:

• $2.2 million to support the workforce development and workforce needs of Pennsylvania’s workers and businesses, respectively.

• $2 million for ‘Career Connect’, an investment that will connect employers with talented workers, help create thousands of internships, keep young people in our Commonwealth, and enable Pennsylvanians to secure family-sustaining jobs.

• $2 million to help businesses transition to skills-based hiring practices, away from arbitrary degree requirements.

• $2 million to build a one-stop-shop for career pathways. By having a single digital location for all career, education, and training resources, all Pennsylvanians, regardless of whether they are in middle school or mid-career, can find the resources they need to plan a better, brighter future for themselves and their families in one place.

• $500,000 to expand and improve the Department of State’s Military Occupational Crosswalk, which connects veterans with civilian career opportunities equivalent to their military experience.

Creating Opportunity by Delivering a New Blueprint for Higher Education Grounded in Access & Affordability

Governor Shapiro believes every Pennsylvanian deserves the freedom to chart their own course and have the opportunity to succeed – and whether Pennsylvanians choose to pursue a degree, take one course to sharpen a skill, or earn a certificate to qualify for a promotion, they deserve accessible, affordable higher education options.

Last month, Governor Shapiro released a new blueprint for higher education in Pennsylvania – one that’s focused on competitiveness and workforce development, and grounded in access and affordability.

Under the Governor’s plan, higher education will serve as an economic driver for Pennsylvania, prepare workers for the future, and address workforce shortages by creating a new system that unites our PASSHE universities and 15 community colleges under a new governance system, increases access, affordability, transparency, and invests in outcomes.

To support this new system and address the historic lack of investment in Pennsylvania’s higher education system, the Governor’s budget proposes:

• $975 million in this new governance system that combines our community colleges and PASSHE schools – a 15 percent increase from $850 million last year in state investment in state-owned universities, community colleges, and the students they serve.

• A 5 percent increase in institutional support for the Commonwealth’s state-related universities – Penn State, Temple, Lincoln, and Pitt. Through these investments and governance changes, Pennsylvania will build a thriving, innovative, and responsive higher education system that better serves students and grows our economy.

Governor Shapiro knows accessibility and affordability are two of the largest obstacles for postsecondary students – and those who can afford to attend college often start their careers with significant debt, as Pennsylvania graduates carry the third largest student debt load in the nation. To address this, under the Governor’s new proposed governance structure for higher education, this budget:

• Recommends an increase in financial aid for students who attend the schools under the new governance system, so that Pennsylvanians making up to the median income will pay no more than $1,000 in tuition and fees per semester beginning in FY2025-26.

• Increases Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) state grants by $1,000, bringing the maximum award up from $5,750 to $6,750 beginning in FY2025-26.

• Invests $279 million annually starting in FY2025-26 so Pennsylvania students can attend college in-state with a limited debt load after they graduate and can enter the workforce ready to start their careers and build a future in our Commonwealth.

Creating Opportunity by Making Pennsylvania a Leader in Economic Development, Job Creation, and Innovation

From day one, Governor Shapiro and his Administration have worked aggressively to make Pennsylvania a leader in innovation and economic development and create economic opportunity for all Pennsylvanians – securing over $1.2 billion in private sector investments in his first year, significantly cutting down business licensing time, and rethinking the way government works to operate at the speed of business. 

To build on this progress and continue growing our economy, create jobs, foster innovation and economic opportunity, and build vibrant communities, Governor Shapiro and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) created the Commonwealth’s first comprehensive economic development strategy in nearly two decades.

Implementing the First State Economic Development Strategy in Nearly 20 Years

The Governor’s 2024-25 budget calls for significant investments directly tied back to this ten-year strategy and issues a strong call to action for partners across all sectors to join in with their support. This budget invests $600 million in total new and expanded investments that will enhance DCED’s ability to implement the Commonwealth’s new ten-year strategic plan for economic development and better serve Pennsylvania’s business community. The investments include:

• $500 million in PA SITES funding to bring more commercial and industrial sites online and ensure companies have options for attractive business environments where they can move quickly and thrive in Pennsylvania.

• $25 million for the Main Street Matters program, to support small businesses and commercial corridors that are the backbone of communities across our Commonwealth. This new program will build upon and modernize the Keystone Communities program.

• $20 million to support large-scale innovation and leverage Pennsylvania’s best-in-class research and development assets. This funding will be used to incentivize additional private venture capital, positioning Pennsylvania as a national leader in innovation while proactively investing in entrepreneurs who have historically lacked access to venture capital funding.

• $3.5 million to create and launch the Pennsylvania Regional Economic Competitiveness Challenge, which will incentivize regional growth, build vibrant and resilient regions, and support communities by investing in the development of comprehensive strategies to propel entire regions forward.

Supporting Public Transportation

Those employers and employees need to get to work safely and affordably – and hundreds of thousands of people across the Commonwealth rely on public transit every day to commute to work, go to school, and travel where they need to go.

To ensure Pennsylvanians can reliably and safely do so, thus budget makes significant investments in public transit, including:

• Increasing the state share of public transit funding by 1.75% – a $282.8 million increase in investment, and nearly $1.5 billion in new state funding over five years, in transit systems that Pennsylvanians rely on.

• Public transit is particularly critical in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Over the last several months, the Governor worked closely with the Southeastern Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the General Assembly, local leadership, and public transit partners to assess their needs and prepare a serious proposal to address them – and this budget proposes over $160 million to support SEPTA.

• Additionally, PRT in Allegheny County will receive nearly $40 million in additional funding this year and LANTA in Lehigh and Northampton counties will receive an additional $6 million this year. Transit systems across Pennsylvania will receive millions in additional funding this year. 

This increased funding will help to attract new companies to Pennsylvania, make it easier for folks to get to work and do business, and will be critical as millions of visitors come to Pennsylvania for many high-profile events in the years to come.

Continuing Pennsylvania’s Legacy as a National Leader in Agriculture

The Governor’s Economic Development Strategy also puts agriculture front and center in the conversation – because Governor Shapiro knows that the 53,000 farms across the Commonwealth support over 600,000 jobs and contribute $132 billion to our state’s economy. The agriculture sector is a critical economic driver – and to continue Pennsylvania’s national legacy as an agriculture leader, the 2024-25 budget proposes:

• $10.3 million in agriculture innovation to help support and attract new agricultural businesses, including energy and conservation endeavors, and to continue to build the future of American agriculture right here in Pennsylvania.

• $5.6 million to reform the Dairy Margin Coverage Protections that protect dairy farmers from harmful price fluctuations.

Legalizing Adult Use Cannabis

This budget recognizes that the time has come for Pennsylvania to legalize adult use cannabis. Every one of Pennsylvania’s neighbors except West Virginia has legalized adult use cannabis, including Ohio. Pennsylvania is currently at a competitive disadvantage, losing out on critical revenue and new businesses to our neighbors.

This budget proposes the legalization of adult-use cannabis effective July 1, 2024, with

sales within Pennsylvania beginning January 1, 2025, and invests $5 million in restorative justice initiatives from adult use cannabis proceeds, in addition to the immediate expungement of the records of those incarcerated for only a possession related offense attributed to cannabis. Once up and running, this industry will yield $250 million in additional revenue for the Commonwealth.

Creating Opportunity by Cutting Costs for Pennsylvania Families

Investing in Pennsylvania’s Families and Supporting the Childcare Workforce

While traveling across the Commonwealth, Governor Shapiro has heard from Pennsylvanians about rising costs – especially childcare. In December, Governor Shapiro signed into law a historic expansion of the Pennsylvania Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit, helping to ease costs for working Pennsylvania families.

A lack of affordable childcare is holding back our children, parents, and economy. This budget will continue to invest in Pennsylvania families and support the childcare workforce by:

• Investing $96,000 in state funds, which will further leverage $62 million in existing federal resources, to increase reimbursement rates for childcare providers participating in the Child Care Works program to the nationally recommended 75th percentile of the current market cost of childcare services.

Addressing Critical Housing Needs

In addition to significant investments in education, workforce development, and infrastructure, Governor Shapiro’s proposed budget is focused on continuing to cut costs for Pennsylvanians.

To fight back against those high costs, we need to do more to help Pennsylvanians stay in – and take care of – their homes. The 2024-25 budget:

• Proposes $50 million for the Whole Home Repairs program, to continue to provide direct assistance to homeowners and keep more families in their homes.

• Increases the cap for PHARE funding by $10 million every year for the next 4 years to help rehabilitate properties in need of repair and build new homes and apartments.

Ensuring Every Pennsylvanian has Access to Health Insurance

Four years after the Commonwealth launched Pennie – our own state-run insurance marketplace – Pennie enrollment has grown by more than 150,000 people in the past four years. To help Pennsylvanians keep their health insurance, Governor Shapiro’s budget invests:

• $50 million to make sure that Pennsylvanians keep their health insurance, and Pennie can continue to drive down costs for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania families.

If we do not do this, as many as 100,000 individuals could be at risk of losing the health insurance they rely on. This is a commonsense, fiscally responsible investment.

Reducing Medical Debt

Governor Shapiro knows that access to health insurance can be the difference between a bad day and a life-defining financial crisis – and as of December 2020 in Pennsylvania, the total balance of medical debt in a collections stage was over $1.8 billion.

To help eliminate medical debt for low-income Pennsylvanians – and stopping the cycle of worse health and more debt in its tracks – Governor Shapiro’s proposal dedicates:

• $4 million for medical debt relief for low-income Pennsylvanians and calls for healthcare providers to implement transparent practices to limit medical debt from being incurred in the first place.

Safeguarding Pennsylvania’s Environment & Natural Resources

Supporting Commonsense Investments in Environmental Innovation and Monitoring

In his first budget address, Governor Shapiro promised to draw down as much federal funding as possible to cap and plug the orphaned and abandoned wells that leak methane and endanger our air, our land, and our homes.

After just one year in office, the Shapiro Administration capped and plugged 169 wells – more than the previous eight years combined – and the Administration has plugged 18 wells since January 1. The 2024-25 budget will continue this progress by:

• Allocating $11 million from the General Fund to continue the important work of finding and capping abandoned wells. This funding will help the Commonwealth continue its work to address climate change and draw down as much funding to cap and plug as many orphaned and abandoned wells as possible.

Improving Pennsylvania’s Public Lands and Inviting a New Generation to Engage in Service

Governor Shapiro is also investing in our outdoor recreation industry because it’s a key driver of economic growth, especially in rural areas. In 2022, outdoor recreation added $17 billion to our economy – a $4 billion increase from the year before.

When we put money into our parks and trails, we’re helping Pennsylvanians stay healthy and enjoy the great outdoors while creating outdoor recreation jobs and supporting the local businesses near those parks and trails that benefit from increased foot traffic.

The Shapiro Administration will continue supporting outdoor recreation and opening up more opportunity for Pennsylvanians to get outdoors by investing:

• $8.5 million to improve and expand the Commonwealth’s outdoor trail system to encourage outdoor recreation, benefiting Pennsylvania’s tourism industry, public health, and the economic competitiveness of local communities.

• An additional $5 million in the Outdoor Corps to provide a growing pathway for Pennsylvanians to engage in meaningful and impactful work improving natural habitats, trails, and environments, and gain important job skills and experience. Pennsylvania’s trails and natural lands are national treasures in part because of the hard work of the Outdoor Corps and crews across the Commonwealth who help make Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation sector impactful.

Combatting Gun Violence and Ensuring Access to Effective Emergency Services

$100 Million Investment to Reduce Gun Violence

All Pennsylvanians deserve to be safe and feel safe in their communities. That means living in a community free from the crime and violence impacting too many families, and having a criminal justice system that enforces the las in a fair and consistent manner.

This budget continues the Governor’s work to create safer communities and includes new initiatives to support our first responders and ensure they have the tools and personnel they need to succeed.

To address and prevent gun violence in our communities, this budget provides a $100 million increase in Commonwealth initiatives to reduce gun violence, including:

• A $37.5 million increase for the successful Violence Intervention and Prevention program in the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). This program supports a wide range of models focused on reducing community violence and relies on community groups that are most in tune with specific local needs.

• A $37.5 million investment in the Gun Violence Investigation and Prosecution program through PCCD to make grants to support district attorneys’ offices and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute crimes related to gun violence.

• A $5 million increase for the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund at PCCD, which provides resources for places of worship, community centers, and other entities to equip themselves with security measures – because all Pennsylvanians deserve to worship peacefully if they choose to.

• $1 million for a Firearm Injury Prevention Program within the Department of Health (DOH) to enhance data collection and analysis around gun violence, engage in community education initiatives, support evidence-based interventions, and collaborate with county coroners and law enforcement.

• $11.5 million to create a statewide Building Opportunity through Out of School Time (BOOST) program, which will aim to reduce community violence by providing more after-school learning opportunities for young people.

• $11 million within PCCD to create more welcoming environments by building parks, addressing blight, and improving shared spaces, such as parks, streets, and playgrounds to promote safer communities.

Ensuring the State Police Are Equipped to Continue Protecting Pennsylvanians

In the 2023-24 budget, Governor Shapiro invested in four new state trooper cadet classes – and PSP is already well on its way to hiring and training those 384 new state troopers. In 2023, PSP saw a 258% increase in the number of applicants taking the test to become a state trooper.

For many, especially in our rural communities, the Pennsylvania State Police routinely aid municipal, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. At a time when our state troopers are asked to do more in communities across the Commonwealth, it’s our responsibility to ensure they have the tools, the flexibility and the personnel to succeed.

To ensure police departments are well-staffed, well-funded, and well-equipped, this budget:

• Invests $16 million to create four more new cadet classes for the Pennsylvania State Police and support PSP’s mission to protect the safety of Pennsylvania communities and residents, building on the action undertaken by the Shapiro Administration to enable more individuals to qualify as Troopers through the elimination of college degree requirements.

Investing in First Responders and Emergency Services

Law enforcement is not the only class of first responders facing workforce shortages that place a burden on local communities – staffing shortages impact all of Pennsylvania’s first responders.

Our emergency medical services (EMS) workers and firefighters put their lives on the line each day to help Pennsylvanians when they are in crisis – and we need to have their backs.

To support EMS companies, who can use grants for many things including equipment, facilities upgrades, training, recruitment, and more, Governor Shapiro’s budget:

• Proposes a $30 million increase for EMS and firefighter funding in the 2024-25 budget through the Fire Company and Emergency Medical Services Grant Program – doubling last year’s investment of $30 million to a total of $60 million.

Protecting Vulnerable Populations

Supporting the Intellectual Disability and Autism Community

Governor Shapiro has heard from those with intellectual disabilities or autism – and those who care for them. He knows that we need to do something different to support home and community-based services and address the shortage of direct support professionals in our Commonwealth, because what we’re doing now isn’t working.

The Governor’s budget supports the intellectual disability and autism community by making a major investment:

• $215 million – and draws down another $266 million in federal funds – to provide more resources for home and community-based service providers, so they in turn can pay competitive rates to attract and retain the staff who provide these essential services.

• $36 million to help get more Pennsylvanians the home and community-based services they need.

Defending Women’s Access to the Healthcare They Need to Live Successful Lives

Governor Shapiro believes that women and girls deserve access to a full range of reproductive health care services and the freedom to make their own choices about their own bodies. This budget increases support for health care providers that provide high-quality family planning tools and reproductive health care services.

Increasing Access to Menstrual Hygiene Products

Governor Shapiro recognizes that access to affordable menstrual hygiene products is an important factor in students’ health, and no student should have to miss school due to not being able to afford basic necessities like menstrual products.

To ensure Pennsylvania students are given the necessary tools to succeed in the classroom, this budget proposes $3 million to provide menstrual hygiene products at no cost to students in schools.

Ensuring Pennsylvania Seniors Age with Dignity

In May 2023, Governor Shapiro signed an Executive Order directing the Pennsylvania Department of Aging to develop a 10-year Master Plan for Older Adults to meet the needs of Pennsylvania’s senior population and improve Commonwealth services for older Pennsylvanians.

The 2024-25 budget will help to ensure Pennsylvania seniors are able to live out their golden years with dignity by investing:

• $11.7 million reflects the Shapiro Administration’s dedication to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for older Pennsylvanians and their caregivers. Through these initiatives, the Commonwealth can enhance accessibility, empower caregivers, bridge disparities, and build a resilient and compassionate community for everyone, all of which may result in lowering the reliance on government-funded healthcare and long-term services and supports.

• $1.9 million towards the creation of the first Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Division at the Department of Aging to support Pennsylvania seniors and their caregivers.

Supporting the Mental Health of Every Pennsylvanian

In the 2023-24 budget, Governor Shapiro secured $100 million for student mental health services and $20 million for county mental health support. The 2024-25 budget matches those investments and takes a step further by investing:

• $100 million in mental health funding for K-12 schools, building upon one-time federal funds and will ensure schools have the continued resources to provide mental health services to students and staff.

• Increasing funding for community-based mental health services by an additional $20 million this year and calling for additional funds in successive years, reaching an overall increase of $60 million per year increase by 2025-26.

• $10 million for 988 crisis line operations to enhance Pennsylvania’s crisis intervention services, expand mental health resources, and ensure competent and resilient staffers are available to support those in need.

Providing Care and Opportunity to Those in the Justice System

During his first year in office, Governor Shapiro signed expanded Clean Slate legislation and probation reform into law and secured the first-ever sustainable state funding for indigent defense in Pennsylvania. The Governor believes people who have paid their debt to society and are working to put their lives back together deserve a real path to opportunity and success.

The Governor’s 2024-25 budget proposal builds on that work to make our legal system more fair and pave the way for more Pennsylvanians to get the second chances they deserve.

To make our criminal justice system fairer and ensure our legal system works for everyone, this budget invests:

• $5 million to ensure those facing eviction have access to legal counsel.

• $5 million for the DOC to hire additional staff for to reduce the use of Extended Restrictive Housing, formerly solitary confinement, in correctional facilities.

• A $4 million increase through PCCD to implement the changes made through recent probation reform and to provide additional resources to counties for adult probation services that reduce recidivism, increase the use of evidence-based practices, reduce caseload sizes, and improve the quality of services.

• A $2.5 million increase for indigent defense to be funded through PCCD and the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee. Previously, Pennsylvania was one of only two states in the country that did not allocate state funding for indigent defense – but the 2023-24 budget funded indigent defense for the first time in Pennsylvania history.

• An additional $239,000 to support staff well-being at DOC. Well-supported and resilient corrections staff are better equipped to handle the stressors of the job, which directly impact the safety and security of correctional facilities.

Governor Shapiro has been laser focused on getting things done for Pennsylvanians and delivered on many of the promises he made in his first budget address – and this budget will continue to deliver real results for the Commonwealth and create economic opportunity for all.

Learn more about Governor Shapiro’s budget here: shapirobudget.pa.gov

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