Blair County legislators expect Pennsylvania state budget impasse to linger
Officials ‘would not be surprised’ if stalemate lasts until October
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The Pennsylvania state budget impasse could last for more than three months, jeopardizing dozens of local organizations and community-support agencies that rely on funding from Harrisburg, according to state Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, and state Rep. Scott Barger, R-Blair.
Ward and Barger spoke at a Blair County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Club event at the Blair County Convention Center on Thursday morning, where they discussed the ongoing budget delay and took questions from the audience.
And while neither legislator serves on their respective chambers' appropriations committee -- where select members of each party hammer out the actual budget details -- they could offer some insight through their connection to state Republican leadership, who are directing negotiations, Ward said.
Barger outlined three priorities he'd like to see addressed in any potential state budget: increased stability in energy regulations, a revised funding formula for public schools and an overall reduction in spending for "things we don't need."
A more stable approach to regulating energy production in the state is as close to a "silver bullet solution to the budget as there is," he said, since that would lower costs for residential consumers and drive investment from large energy companies, which would boost the overall economy.
Ward advocated for an approach emphasizing "fiscal responsibility" -- that Harrisburg should strive to "spend within our means."
Democrats, especially those hailing from the Philadelphia region, have pushed for a budget that includes increased funding for SEPTA, the commonwealth's largest public transit authority, since the beginning of the process, she said, which has made it a key sticking point in ongoing negotiations.
SEPTA officials have repeatedly said that without an increase in state support, they would be forced to drastically cut service routes for both bus and train lines.
Ward, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said that SEPTA needs to "get their fiscal house in order" by potentially raising fares for commuters in order to sustain the agency's balance sheet.
Since her appointment to the chair position in January 2025, Ward said she has hosted tours for committee members in both her majority-rural district and Philadelphia in order to gain a deeper understanding of each area's transit needs.
Both Ward and Barger agreed that health and human services funding, as well as education funding, should be protected during the negotiation process.
Cutting these two areas would have "the most direct impact on the greatest number of Pennsylvania residents," Barger said.
Doubts on marijuana
Several Democratic state lawmakers, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, have offered an expansion of the state's medical marijuana program to include recreational adult sale as a potential new source of tax revenue throughout the 2025-26 budget process, but Barger is skeptical of the plan's efficacy.
"We've been sold this song and dance before," he said, referencing the 2017 legalization of casino gambling, "and I'm not sure it's worked out for us."
Barger and Ward said they are not in favor of expanding the commonwealth's marijuana program, which currently allows adult patients to purchase limited quantities of both raw and processed THC products if they have a prescription from a doctor to treat a number of specific conditions.
Ward said that Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, has informally asked about her availability to come into Harrisburg to vote on a budget three separate times, all of which have fallen apart at the last minute.
Barger said that he would be "relieved but not surprised" to see a deal struck sometime in October, but could not offer a more definitive timeline.
Several senior service agencies, public libraries and other state-supported community organizations have said that unless the budget is passed by the end of September, they would have to reduce their hours of operation and/or staffing levels in order to stay afloat.
Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.