Pennsylvania Senate passes budget including transit funding, but House is unlikely to agree

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate has passed a funding bill that would largely use capital funding to maintain transit operations, a move the state’s governor and Democratically-controlled House say is not a viable solution to the funding shortfall that could lead to major service cuts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The Philadelphia-area Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has said that unless funding is set by Thursday, Aug. 14, it will have to begin 20% reductions in service as of Aug. 24-25.

In an amendment to a bill passed by the House, the Senate agreed to $292 million in transit funding, but shifted the source from sales-tax revenue. Most would come from the Public Transportation Trust Fund, which provides funds for capital projects. The amendment by state Sen. Joe Picozzi (R-Philadelphia) would provide funding for two years.

“I understand the concerns of my colleagues,” Picozzi said in remarks reported by public broadcaster WHYY, “but let’s be very clear. We have enough existing resources to fund transit and infrastructure for two years without cutting back our plans or cutting funding for other programs.”

Overall, the bill would provide $1.2 billion over two years, some coming from unused money in a gaming tax, and the rest from the transportation trust fund. Part of that money would be moved to an account for rural infrastructure; the rest would remain in the trust fund but could be moved from capital to operating budgets.

Democrats consider that proposal unworkable.

“While Governor Shapiro appreciates Senate Republicans finally acknowledging the need to fund mass transit systems across the commonwealth, this is clearly not a serious, long-term proposal that can pass both chambers,” said Shapiro’s press secretary, Manuel Bonder. “It’s time to get back to the table and keep working at it.”

Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia) said the use of capital funding “will make it impossible for transit agencies like SEPTA to maintain their aging fleets, let alone implement changes to make the system faster, more reliable and more accessible to those it serves.”

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority General Manager Scott Sauer said in a statement that SEPTA appreciates that the Senate “seems genuinely motivated” to tackle the agency’s financial needs, but that “there may be confusion about the proposed sources of funding to address the crisis we are facing. As a result, we expect to remain in close contact with all parties in this negotiation as we continue to await a solution that will provide adequate, sustainable funding for SEPTA’s future.”

The transit funding was part of an overall budget proposal that would maintain roughly the current level of funding from the state’s general fund, about $47.7 billion. Shapiro had proposed $51.5 billion in funding while House Democrats passed a $50.6 million budget last month, the Harrisburg Patriot-News reports. “The budget proposal that was submitted by the governor and House Democrats was not based on real life,” Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland County). Republicans say it uses optimistic revenue projections to hide a growing deficit.

The revised bill now goes back to the House, which has passed five previous bills that would use sales-tax money to boost transit funding and road and bridge construction [see “Pennsylvania House again passes …,” Trains.com, Aug. 12, 2025].

The state budget was due July 1. While workers continue to be paid and some state programs are legally mandated to receive funding even without a new budget, some local agencies dependent on state money will see some $2.5 billion in funding withheld soon.