Lawmakers called to Capitol for weekend work with budget 11 days late

(The Center Square) – State lawmakers headed back to Harrisburg on Saturday for scheduled weekend voting sessions that appear likely to be focused on attempts to get an already late 2026-27 budget put into place.

The state Senate was scheduled to go into session at 5 p.m. Saturday and the House at noon on Sunday. But House members on both the Democratic and Republican sides said their own caucuses would meet behind closed doors late Saturday.

Democratic Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz of Berks County said she felt a lot of uncertainty as she prepared to head to Harrisburg. The fourth-year lawmaker said there were major “combative” issues in play in each of her first three years. This time around, she said, it seemed unclear why the private budget negotiations between top state political leaders went beyond the established June 30 deadline.

Republican Rep. Scott Barger of Blair County said most people would have loved to have made the deadline. Nonetheless, he said, “A couple of weeks late is ...