Partisan sniping underway as Pennsylvania confronts $5B deficit

(The Center Square) – How to build a financial bridge across the vast chasm between Pennsylvania’s potential spending and revenue figures – gauged at roughly $5 billion or more – will be a major challenge as budget negotiators gear up to work on a 2026-27 spending plan.

That much was clear in the state Capitol on Thursday as lawmakers concluded hearings on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s $53.3 billion spending proposal, setting the stage for negotiations that will aim to produce a deal by the June 30 constitutional deadline. There was partisan sniping, indicating the upcoming process may be far from smooth.

Shapiro, a fourth-year Democrat who is up for re-election, wants to generate new revenue by having the Legislature legalize adult-use marijuana; regulate and tax so-called skill games; modernize the tax system; and boost sales tax and personal income tax collections by raising the minimum wage. On Thursday, Budget Secretary Zachary Reber testified that “we have left about $3 billion off the table” by not e...