HARRISBURG, PA– November 12, 2025 - Senator Miller (D-Lehigh/Northampton) releases the following statement on today’s passage of the state budget:
“Today, we passed a $50.09 billion dollar budget that makes significant investments in Pennsylvanians, include historic basic education funding, home care for seniors and individuals with disabilities, and community safety,” said Miller. “This moment is long-awaited for Pennsylvanians. Residents of the Lehigh Valley will benefit from these strategic investments, and most importantly, providing opportunities for tax cuts for hardworking PA families, not increases.”
Miller, who served on the 2023 Basic Education Funding Commission (BEFC), a bipartisan effort to construct a formula to properly fund the state’s public education system, advocated for another historic investment. This budget includes a $105 million increase from last year to a total $526 million investment for public schools, continuing to fulfill Pennsylvania’s court ordered obligation to adequately and constitutionally fund our public schools.
“As a former local school board member and member of the BEFC, investing in our education system to adequately serve all students remains my top priority,” said Miller. “This budget includes $125 million for school facilities improvements, cyber charter school funding reform resulting in $175 million in costs saved annually, and a $40 million increase in special education funding.”
This year’s state budget features a groundbreaking $21 million investment aimed at participant-directed home care workers. Recently, Senator Miller organized a policy hearing focused on home care workers and experienced a day in their life earlier this year to support Governor Shapiro’s proposal for this vital investment to be included in the budget.
“I experienced firsthand the challenges home care workers face by walking a day in the life of a home care worker with Lynn Weidner and Brandon Kingsmore,” said Miller. “This investment marks a significant victory for home care workers and consumers by increasing wages to $15/hour and providing paid time off for more than 8,000 homecare workers caring for older adults and individuals with disabilities across Pennsylvania.”
A $10 million investment will be included in the budget to assist farmers through the Agricultural Innovation Development program, assisting them in their agricultural businesses in adopting innovative technologies and practices aimed at enhancing conservation and implementing clean energy solutions. In addition, a $8.8 million investment will be awarded to a new program, BusinessPA, focused on attracting and retaining businesses in Pennsylvania.
“Maintaining competitiveness is essential for the future of Pennsylvania’s economy,” said Miller. “This budget aims to achieve that goal by attracting new businesses to the commonwealth, providing job opportunities and security for residents. Pennsylvania will allocate an additional $20 million to the Main Street Matters initiative to enhance our main streets and stimulate both local and state economies, thereby preserving our competitive business advantage. The budget includes continued investment in the Manufacturing PA program. This provides training and workforce development opportunities for our manufacturing sector which is a thriving portion of the Lehigh Valley’s economy, providing family sustaining wages across our region. This investment will continue to ensure that local companies have the skilled workforce needed to grow. Collectively, these efforts will enhance Pennsylvania’s position at the forefront of competitiveness.”
“This budget delivers on making Pennsylvania a great place to live, work, and explore,” said Senator Miller. “In the coming weeks, I am excited to share more budget wins that strengthen our communities and deliver for Lehigh Valley residents.”