Pennsylvania Perspective for Thursday, July 2, 2026

Pennsylvania

PA General Assembly Fails to Meet Budget Deadline

The General Assembly failed to meet its June 30 constitutional budget deadline for the fifth year in a row as budget negotiations continue. House Democrats passed a version of Governor Josh Shapiro’s $53.3 billion budget proposal in April, but Senate Republicans continue to express concern over the budget proposal’s $5.6 billion deficit and the use of approximately $4 billion from the state’s rainy day fund. Senate Republican leader Joe Pittman (R-41), who called the recess without a scheduled return date, said a deal could be reached as soon as next week, but House Democrats and Governor Shapiro criticized Senate Republicans for not meeting before Independence Day to finalize a deal. The Governor’s budget proposal also aims to generate revenue through new sources, like regulating and taxing skill games after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that they are subject to the state’s Gaming Act and Crimes Code, legalizing recreational marijuana, and raising the minimum wage, which was blocked by Senate Republicans after voting down a discharge petition brought forth by Senate Democrats. Other policy issues like data center tax exemptions, electricity tax cuts, and school choice tax credits, continue to be debated. A date has not been set on when the House and Senate will meet again in July, but it is likely to be sometime next week.

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Treasurer Garrity Approves Payments for Governor’s Private Residence

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced the approval of more than $1 million in settlement payments to three unpaid vendors who performed security upgrades at Governor Josh Shapiro’s private residence, acting on a resolution approved by Attorney General Dave Sunday to avoid litigation. The fiscal settlement follows a determination by both the Treasury and the Attorney General that the Shapiro administration lacked the explicit legal authority to spend public funds on a private home and bypassed state procurement and contracting procedures. While the administration’s actions were criticized as cutting corners to avoid legislative permission, fiscal leadership noted that authorizing the compromise was legally necessary to insulate state taxpayers from the heavier financial burden of court costs and contract damages that Pennsylvania would likely lose. The finalized payments resolve the outstanding vendor claims while explicitly maintaining that the transaction does not constitute a retroactive legal endorsement of the administration’s initial procurement methods.

State Senator Mastriano Pledges Support for Treasurer Garrity

State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-33) denied allegations that his nomination to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic was part of a political deal to clear the primary field for Republican gubernatorial nominee and Treasurer Stacy Garrity. Senator Mastriano, who received thousands of write-in votes during the May election despite stepping aside, clarified that his past frustrations were directed at state party insiders rather than Treasurer Garrity herself. Emphasizing that his presidential appointment and his decision to forgo the primary were entirely separate operations, Senator Mastriano expressed his intent to campaign with Treasurer Garrity to unify the grassroots base ahead of the general election. While his focus remains on securing confirmation in the U.S. Senate with the backing of Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA), Senator Mastriano acknowledged that he anticipates partisan pushback from Democrats during the upcoming federal review process.

Department of Revenue FY 2025-26 Collections, $1.1 Billion Above Estimate

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue reported that the commonwealth concluded the 2025–26 fiscal year with $48.9 billion in total General Fund collections, exceeding initial state budgetary estimates by $1.1 billion, or 2.4%. According to Revenue Secretary Pat Browne, the performance was driven by receipts across major revenue streams, led by $20 billion in personal income tax (2.1% above estimate), $15.5 billion in sales tax (1.2% above estimate), $7.4 billion in corporation tax (3.7% above estimate), $1.9 billion in inheritance tax (5.9% above estimate), $1.9 billion in non-tax revenue (5.5% above estimate), $1.5 billion in other General Fund taxes (4.0% above estimate), and $661.3 million in realty transfer tax (3.5% above estimate), while the Motor License Fund also finished ahead at $3.2 billion (2.0% above estimate).

Philadelphia

Bipartisan Delegation of Congress Convenes at Independence Hall to Commemorate Semiquincentennial

Organized by U.S. Representative Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2), a bipartisan delegation of approximately 40 members of Congress returned to Independence Hall in Philadelphia to mark 250 years since the Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776. Representative Boyle characterized the rare offsite commemorative gathering as a vital opportunity for lawmakers to step out of Washington’s hyperpartisan landscape and reflect on the nation’s unified founding history. Delivering a speech before the assembled federal legislators, Governor Josh Shapiro emphasized the modern responsibility of Congress to act as a constitutional check on the executive branch, expressing concerns that current administrative leadership has diverged from the founders’ initial vision.

Federal

Supreme Court Rejects Executive Order Attempting to Limit Birthright Citizenship

In a 6–3 landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an executive order by President Donald Trump that sought to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born on American soil to undocumented or temporary immigrant parents. The ruling affirms the 14th Amendment’s text plainly guarantees citizenship to nearly all persons born within the United States. Following the decision, several Pennsylvania legislative caucuses representing communities of color expressed immense relief, with state Representative and vice chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Asian Pacific American Caucus Arvind Venkat (D-30), state Representative Lindsay Powell (D-21), state Representative and chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Latino Caucus Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (D-129), and state Representative and chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus Napoleon Nelson (D-154), characterizing the verdict as a constitutional check against unilateral executive overreach that directly secures the commonwealth’s diverse population and expressing concern with the closeness of the ruling. These legislative groups and the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition have urged the federal government to formally codify these automatic protections into federal law while pressuring Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration to halt state-level cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. 

Supreme Court Upholds State Laws Allowing Post-Election Day Counting of Mail-In Ballots

In a 5–4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states may count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day provided they were postmarked on or before it. Authoring the majority opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices, affirmed that federal election-day statutes dictate when votes are cast rather than when they must be received, leaving ballot-receipt logistics to the discretion of individual state legislatures. The ruling, which rejected a legal preemption challenge brought by the Republican National Committee and the Trump administration against a Mississippi grace-period law, prevents a major pre-midterm disruption across roughly 30 states that maintain post-election processing allowances. Justice Samuel Alito dissented by arguing that extending ballot collection past the federally designated date compromises statutory text and election integrity, prompting President Donald Trump to leverage the ruling to demand that Congress immediately pass the SAVE America Act. The Supreme Court also signaled it will address further regional mail-in parameters next term by indicating it may review a separate Pennsylvania dispute concerning outer-envelope handwritten date requirements. 

Senators Fetterman and McCormick Promote Federal Child Savings Accounts

Pennsylvania U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) visited the Philadelphia Youth Basketball program to promote the upcoming launch of federal child savings accounts, commonly referred to as “Trump accounts.” Established under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, these tax-deferred investment accounts open for enrollment on July 4 and provide a $1,000 federal seed deposit for American children born between 2025 and 2028. Highlighting an estimated 1.4 million eligible children across Pennsylvania, the senators urged families to capitalize on the program, which is augmented by a $6.25 billion private donation from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation providing a $250 credit to low- and middle-income children age 10 and under who miss the federal birth window. Both legislators emphasized that bridging the nation’s widening wealth gap is a non-partisan issue and advocated for local youth financial security through long-term index fund compounding managed by BNY and Robinhood.

Department of Justice Sues PA Over SNAP Applicant Data

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and Kentucky to compel the disclosure of five years of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicant data. According to federal prosecutors, the targeted states have withheld this information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stalling a year-long federal initiative aimed at verifying state-level eligibility determinations and auditing program administration. Federal fraud enforcement officials stated that data from twenty-eight cooperative states have already exposed billions of dollars in annual SNAP overpayments and fraudulent activity, making state compliance essential to safeguarding public funds. The four resisting states have engaged in the legal standoff due to ongoing disputes regarding privacy protections and concerns over how the federal government intends to utilize the sensitive recipient records.

PA Sues Trump Administration Over Medicaid Work Exemption Rules

A coalition of 25 states and Washington, D.C., including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to challenge a strict new rule governing federal Medicaid work mandates. The legal challenge, filed in a Massachusetts federal district court, claims that the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) overstepped their bounds by narrowing congressionally approved exemptions passed under the One Big Beautiful Bill. Under the administration’s June 3 regulatory update, individuals seeking coverage must actively prove that a chronic diagnosis “significantly impairs” their ability to perform 80 hours of monthly community or employment activities rather than automatically qualifying under the standard “medically frail” designation. While state officials argue these additional administrative obstacles put healthcare access for vulnerable residents at risk before an impending August notification deadline, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz defended the restrictive measures as a necessary regulatory framework to prevent widespread program fraud and abuse. 

Representative Thompson Introduces Legislation to Overhaul the H-2A Agricultural Visa Program

House Agriculture Committee Chairman and Representative Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-PA-15) introduced the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, a bill designed to modernize the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Program to alleviate chronic labor shortages and high operational costs for American farmers. The proposed legislation expands the visa program by removing the restriction that labor must be seasonal, redefining “temporary” as any job contract of 350 days or less to allow year-round sectors like dairy to participate, and transferring regulatory definitions to the Secretary of Agriculture. The bill also incorporates a limited legal framework allowing certain undocumented immigrants with long-term domestic agricultural work histories to transition into legal H-2A status.

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