Perhaps the best thing about Pennsylvania’s 2026-27 budget process is that it is, finally, over.

The $50.8 billion budget is balanced, ended up roughly $3 billion under the initial budget proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro in February and includes priorities for both sides – including a continuation of increases in K-12 education funding following a landmark 2023 court ruling and continued funding of tax credits for businesses that donate money for scholarships to allow children to attend private schools. It also left untouched the state’s $7.7 billion “Rainy Day Fund,” which was a priority for Republicans.

At least the budget was approved only a couple of weeks after the state’s June 30 deadline. We wonder, though, just how long the stalemate would have gone if the legislature had actually taken up any of the difficult issues that were being tossed around as part of budget deliberations. That includes taxing and regulating the estimated 70,000 so-called “skill games” around the state, proposals to legalize recreational marijuana and to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour. To make matters worse, balancing the budget relies on a couple of fiscal tricks, including the use of $4.5 billion over two years of unspent or “found” money from various government accounts and delaying various payments by a few months – a tactic that takes them off the books for 2026-27 and placing them in a different fiscal year.

Essentially, the budget is a document that punts on decisions on major issues and is balanced in part on financial gimmickry that will only create budget gaps that have to be dealt with in future years.

It’s little wonder that state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-Oil City, and Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, voted against the general appropriations bill. The best thing to say about the budget is that it’s done. We’re not sure anyone can say it was done well.