HARRISBURG – Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-46) said Senate Republicans would work to reduce spending and produce a more fiscally responsible budget than the plan presented by Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday.
“It’s like the Groundhog Day movie, reliving the same thing over and over,” Bartolotta said. “This is now the governor’s fourth proposal in a row saying we’re going to fill all the holes in the budget with make-believe, speculative revenue projections – this is an insult to the hardworking people of the state. It is unrealistic.”
Shapiro’s 2026-27 $53.3 billion budget proposal would increase spending by $2.7 billion, a 5.4% increase over the current year. The spending plan would take $4.6 billion out of the state’s emergency reserves in the Rainy Day Fund.
The growth in spending is primarily from the Department of Human Services (nearly a $1.4 billion increase) and the Department of Education (more than a $900 million increase). Costs for the Department of Corrections would also increase by $140 million under Shapiro’s budget despite the closure of two state correctional facilities.
“I am a strong advocate for public education and supported historic investments in our schools. Going forward, additional funding should be tied to real improvements in student achievement and a responsibility to the taxpayers who fund our education system,” Bartolotta said.
Bartolotta acknowledged funding for mental health and intellectual disabilities but criticized the governor for ignoring physical disability caregivers—particularly those providing in-home care.
“These caregivers help people get out of bed, get to work and live independently, yet they are consistently left out of the conversation. Supporting individuals with disabilities means supporting all disabilities, including the caregivers who make independent living possible,” Bartolotta said.
The budget includes some encouraging elements, particularly for seniors and working families. She noted that increased support for aging services would be a positive step for Pennsylvania’s seniors and the local agencies that serve them and welcomed the focus on childcare recruitment and retention as an important acknowledgment of the workforce challenges facing families and employers.
Shapiro’s 2026-27 budget proposal also uses a portion of the multi-billion-dollar balance in the Public Transportation Trust Fund to support the state’s largest transit agencies, which is the fiscally responsible approach identified by Senate Republicans during last year’s budget debate.
Watch video of Bartolotta’s reaction to Shapiro’s budget proposal here.
CONTACT: Brian Tirpak