Education
What You Need to Know About Pennsylvania’s 2026-27 State Budget Deal
Summary Pennsylvania’s 2026–27 state budget deal is an improvement over Gov. Josh Shapiro’s reckless proposal, but it still spends too much and leaves taxpayers facing an even larger long-term structural…
Read More: What You Need to Know About Pennsylvania’s 2026-27 State Budget DealPennsylvania’s complex state budget has enabled policymakers to keep taxpayers in the dark when it comes to state spending. Year after year, some elected officials use budget gimmicks to both make the budget appear balanced and to secure their own agendas. Pennsylvanians deserve reforms that bring true transparency to the budgeting process. We must limit spending growth to a sustainable rate, ensuring the state government—like hardworking taxpayers—live within its means.
State Budget
Day 100 of State Budget Impasse
On Hundredth Day of the Shapiro Shutdown, PA Democrats Push Spending & Tax Hikes Harrisburg, Pa., October 8, 2025 — Day 100 of the state budget shutdown brought…
Press Release
Read More: Day 100 of State Budget ImpasseState Budget
Shapiro Failed to Protect PA from Budget Stalemates
Originally published by RealClearPennsylvania. The people of Pennsylvania are now enduring a “double whammy”—a state budget that is more than three months past due, plus a…
Media Hit
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Hours Away from Federal Government Shutdown, Pennsylvania Remains Vulnerable
Harrisburg, Pa., September 30, 2025 — A federal government shutdown is set to begin at midnight, barring a last-minute deal. For Pennsylvania residents, the commonwealth remains in a dangerously precarious position, with…
Press Release
Read More: Hours Away from Federal Government Shutdown, Pennsylvania Remains VulnerableEducation
School Districts Claim to be “Underfunded” During Budget Impasse, Despite Massive Reserve Funds
Winston Churchill famously said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Pennsylvania school districts have adopted this approach, using the current state budget impasse as a pretext to raise…
Blog
Read More: School Districts Claim to be “Underfunded” During Budget Impasse, Despite Massive Reserve FundsState Budget
Governor Shapiro is Doing Everything but Governing
Originally published by The Pottstown-Mercury. Gov. Josh Shapiro is the only governor in America operating without an enacted or temporary state budget. But you wouldn’t know it from his recent…
Media Hit
Read More: Governor Shapiro is Doing Everything but GoverningState Budget
Pennsylvania Has a Budget Deficit. So Why Are Taxpayers Funding Lobbyists?
Originally published by RealClearPennsylvania. Should Pennsylvania taxpayers fund political lobbying efforts for taxpayer-funded organizations lobbying for more taxpayer funds? Not only is this practice misguided, but it’s also fundamentally wrong, blurring…
Media Hit
Read More: Pennsylvania Has a Budget Deficit. So Why Are Taxpayers Funding Lobbyists?State Budget
Gov. Shapiro Cannot Be Allowed to Tap Pennsylvania’s Rainy Day Fund
Orginally published by LNP/Lancaster Online. Gov. Josh Shapiro has a spending problem, and he wants to smash open Pennsylvania’s piggy bank to placate his expensive habits. In February, Shapiro proposed…
Media Hit
Read More: Gov. Shapiro Cannot Be Allowed to Tap Pennsylvania’s Rainy Day FundState Budget
The Shapiro Stalemate Enters Year Three
Gov. Josh Shapiro wants Pennsylvanians to believe that he wasn’t responsible for this year’s budget impasse—just like he wasn’t for last year’s stalemate or the year before that. For three…
Blog
Read More: The Shapiro Stalemate Enters Year ThreeState Budget
An Important Lesson From Past Budget Impasses
In February, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed an unserious $51.5 billion budget. Based on the latest revenue estimate from the Independent Fiscal Office of a net $45.6…
Blog
Read More: An Important Lesson From Past Budget ImpassesState Budget
Corporate Welfare in Governor Shapiro’s Fiscal Year 2025–26 Budget Proposal
Summary Pennsylvania’s economy lags behind other states, hindered by high taxes and burdensome regulations. As a result, the state suffers from continued outmigration, with residents leaving for better opportunities in…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Corporate Welfare in Governor Shapiro’s Fiscal Year 2025–26 Budget ProposalState Budget
Commonwealth Foundation Urges Legal Protection of State’s Rainy Day Fund
Letter calls on Treasurer Garrity to withhold any transfer from the budget stabilization reserve fund, pending legal adjudication. Harrisburg, Pa., September 8, 2025 — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation…
Press Release
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Urges Legal Protection of State’s Rainy Day FundGovernment Accountability
Pennsylvanians Blame Governor Shapiro for Budget Impasse, New Polling Finds
Pennsylvanians aren’t pleased with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s performance with this year’s state budget, according to a recently released poll. Moreover, Keystone State residents are increasingly concerned about the future of…
Blog
Read More: Pennsylvanians Blame Governor Shapiro for Budget Impasse, New Polling FindsEducation
New Poll: Inflation, Economy, Taxes, and Crime Top Voter Concerns, Pennsylvanians Hold Shapiro Responsible for Budget Impasse
Harrisburg, Pa., September 3, 2025 — Fewer than 4-in-10 Pennsylvania voters believe the state is on the right track, according to new polling released today by the Commonwealth Foundation.
Press Release
Read More: New Poll: Inflation, Economy, Taxes, and Crime Top Voter Concerns, Pennsylvanians Hold Shapiro Responsible for Budget ImpasseGovernment Accountability
SEPTA’s Manufactured Crisis Has Delayed State Budget Long Enough
Harrisburg, Pa., August 22, 2025 — This Sunday, after eight consecutive weeks of public fearmongering, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will enact self-imposed service cuts. Though completely avoidable, these…
Press Release
Read More: SEPTA’s Manufactured Crisis Has Delayed State Budget Long EnoughState Budget
SEPTA, Shapiro, and House Dems Own This Budget Stalemate
Originally published by the Delaware Valley Journal. The Pennsylvania budget is, once again, late. Budget negotiations have come to a standstill over one issue: bailing out…
Media Hit
Read More: SEPTA, Shapiro, and House Dems Own This Budget StalemateEducation
New TV/Digital Ad: Shapiro’s Budget Impasse is Failing Kids & Families
Harrisburg, Pa., August 22, 2025 — Today, the Commonwealth Foundation launched a new ad, calling for Gov. Josh Shapiro to end the budget impasse with a compromise that protects families…
Press Release
Read More: New TV/Digital Ad: Shapiro’s Budget Impasse is Failing Kids & FamiliesGovernment Accountability
Myth-Busting SEPTA
For the Pennsylvania state budget, mass transit funding is all the rage these days—literally. The primary debate in Harrisburg revolves around the question of whether to send more state dollars…
Blog
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Pa. Senate Passes Budget Protecting Taxpayers, as Shapiro, House Democrats Continue Gridlock
Harrisburg, Pa., August 12, 2025 — Today, the Pennsylvania Senate is advancing a spending bill that provides the clearest path forward in months toward a sustainable state budget. The commonwealth is…
Press Release
Read More: Pa. Senate Passes Budget Protecting Taxpayers, as Shapiro, House Democrats Continue GridlockState Budget
The One Big Beautiful Bill Should Show Pennsylvania How to Get Stuff Done
Originally published in PennLive. Entering the second months of Pennsylvania’s state budget impasse, Gov. Josh Shapiro and his political machine are desperate to deflect mounting scrutiny. Instead of…
Media Hit
Read More: The One Big Beautiful Bill Should Show Pennsylvania How to Get Stuff DoneState Budget
Pennsylvania Enters Second Month of Budget Impasse
Harrisburg, Pa., August 1, 2025 — Pennsylvania is entering the second month operating without a state budget, with no end in sight. Amid the protracted impasse, many have begun to…
Press Release
Read More: Pennsylvania Enters Second Month of Budget ImpasseGovernment Accountability
Media Dogpiles on Shapiro’s Taxpayer-Funded Self-Promotion
Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to be in the spotlight, but he also wants to keep his misdeeds in the dark. All the while, the governor expects taxpayers to finance the…
Blog
Read More: Media Dogpiles on Shapiro’s Taxpayer-Funded Self-Promotion