Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Here we are again. July. The annual observance is upon us.

No. Not Independence Day. Less celebratory, possibly just as explosive.

Pennsylvania once more has seen the yearly state budget deadline — and blown past it like a reckless driver.

Did anyone expect anything else? Hoped, sure, but expected? Doubtful. This is the fifth consecutive budget to miss deadline and the 15th in the past 23 years.

That means the state is consistently delinquent in its obligations: to its residents, to county and local governments and to its own agencies.

In 2025, the budget was 135 days late. That’s more than four months of funding that was delayed and services that were threatened. School districts and counties borrowed money to make up for what they weren’t receiving. Some agencies cut hours. Others furloughed employees.

When lawmakers and the governor fail to agree on a budget, it is not like being late filing your income taxes or putting off paying your water bill. The implications are broad.

And, like a late credit card payment, a delayed budget has costs that add up, both for the state and those it funds. Ultimately, all of those costs fall on the taxpayer. For our state lawmakers, failing to do the job is not a victimless crime.

Ideally, the budget should never be in a position where it comes down to the final hours on June 30 to see if it passes or not. It should be settled well in advance. The deadline is the last possible minute it should pass.

Like a student’s term paper, the work should be done and turned in before it’s due, not scrawled out on the bus and turned in a week — or several months — late.

At this point, the more relevant question isn’t “Why is the state budget always late?” It’s “Why do we have a budget deadline at all?” It means nothing.

Perhaps if lawmakers can’t agree on a budget, they should at least agree to change the rules and eliminate a deadline they habitually ignore.

That’s a lot of work. It would require meetings and negotiating and, ultimately, voting to solidify a decision.

But then again, if the leaders in Harrisburg were capable of doing those things, the budget could get passed in a timely fashion.

Clearly, that’s not possible.