Overview
- Lawmakers approved the plan with bipartisan votes — 156-47 in the House and 40-9 in the Senate — before Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it into law.
- Authorized spending rises about 4.7% from last year, with most new dollars directed to Medicaid and public schools, and the plan relies on surplus cash to balance.
- Public schools receive more than $665 million in new funding, including roughly $562 million routed through adequacy and tax‑equity formulas, plus about $178 million to change cyber charter payments and a new earned income tax credit for lower‑income workers.
- As part of the deal, Pennsylvania will exit the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a key Republican priority that Democrats accepted to secure the agreement.
- State payments will resume to schools, counties, and nonprofits after months of delays; districts had missed more than $5 billion, and Philadelphia borrowed against a $1.55 billion line, drawing $585.5 million and projecting up to about $30 million in interest if fully used.