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Yesterday, the House and Senate came together to pass a new state budget for 2026-27. I voted for the new plan because it invests tax dollars responsibly, continues critical programs, and strengthens our schools – all without raising taxes.

The new plan adds a third installment of $565 million in equity funding to continue leveling the playing field for students in historically underfunded school districts, and it adds new funding for school safety and student mental health. Locally, our school districts will see across-the-board increases.

Beyond schools, the new budget increases funding for essential programs and services, including Medical Assistance managed care, mental health programs, rape crisis centers, the Violence Intervention and Prevention program, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, and programs to help seniors afford their prescription medications and age in place. There’s also new funding to fight food insecurity, boost affordable housing, and strengthen childcare services.

It may not be perfect (no budget ever is), but it delivers funding where it counts – to help us address the real-world issues that matter to residents and families. In my book, those are the right priorities.

With more and more data centers springing up around PA, my House colleagues and I are working to establish guardrails to protect residents and small businesses. We recently passed a slate of bills to bring greater transparency to data center development, give local leaders more power to decide whether proposals are in the community’s best interests, and require that data centers be accountable for their water and energy use, infrastructure costs, and environmental impacts.

Some of those bills would:

• Require developers to meet strict, enforceable standards on utility costs, water use, noise, and environmental strain.
• Prevent data centers from shifting costs onto residents and small businesses and require them to use in-state “clean firm” energy and contribute to state energy-assistance programs.
• Require data centers to report water and energy use and allow the state to require permits and oversee any water use exceeding 100,000 gallons per day.
• Ban non-disclosure agreements between data centers and municipalities.
• Allow local governments to place a 180-day pause on data center applications so officials have time to make the best decision on the community’s behalf.
• End the sales tax exemption for data centers on equipment purchases.

The bills are now with the state Senate, where we’ll be urging our colleagues to bring them up for a vote.