Fiedler celebrates passage of ‘26-’27 state budget; calls for continued action
Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler July 13, 2026 | 9:24 AM
HARRISBURG, July 13 – State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., majority chair of the PA House Energy Committee, issued the following statement today on the passage of the 2026-27 state budget:
“Pennsylvanians are facing a lot of challenges right now. Our neighbors balance day-to-day struggles -- like food insecurity and rising energy bills -- with planning for an uncertain future, as temperatures rise and federal programs are cut. We are living through difficult times.
“The people we represent -- working people, families and seniors -- need government to work for them now more than ever.
“The budget we passed this weekend makes important strides toward making life a little easier for our neighbors. I’m celebrating our decision to continue funding for neighborhood public schools, a step in the right direction to rectify our state’s historically unconstitutional education funding. This is a big victory: We delivered $8.3 billion in basic education funding and $565 million in adequacy funding. I’m thrilled that with the inclusion of H.B. 1701, my School Facilities Inventory legislation, we will soon have a better understanding of how to allocate funding to the districts that need it most. Additionally, this budget recognizes that so many schools are crucial community hubs outside of regular school hours: We spent $11.5 million on BOOST afterschool programming.
“We also renewed Solar for Schools for its third year, with $25 million in new funds. This extremely successful grant program is already underway, helping dozens of school districts, community colleges and intermediate units across the commonwealth construct solar arrays. Now we’ve expanded it so even more school communities can benefit from financial savings on energy bills, good jobs and solar energy.
“At the same time, renewable energy faces serious attacks on the national stage. Now more than ever, state governments must step in and lead on investment in clean energy and lower working people’s bills. As chair of the House Energy Committee, this continues to be one of my top priorities.
“Over the first 1½ years of the committee’s existence, we have passed 17 bills through the committee designed to strengthen our electric grid, regulate data centers, shift Pennsylvania toward clean energy and maintain good-paying jobs to do it. I’m thrilled and encouraged that three of these bills were included in the omnibus budget package: H.B. 2223 will encourage the adoption of cost-saving and efficient grid technologies, and H.B. 2150 requires data centers to be transparent about how much water and energy they consume. House Bill 2017, which makes it easier to bring small nuclear projects online, also passed the Senate as a standalone bill and is now on its way to the governor’s desk for his signature.
“These are important achievements. But there is much, much more that state government can and should be doing: getting more energy generation online, fixing our broken tax system and requiring the wealthiest corporations and billionaires to pay their fair share.
“The work continues. We are once again returning home without funding for public transit. We did not raise the minimum wage. And there is so much work to do to address the climate crisis with the urgency it requires.
“The money we need to create transformative change for Pennsylvanians already exists, in the hands of the wealthy few. Closing corporate tax loopholes and requiring mega-corporations to contribute could generate billions in yearly revenue. As we head into the 2026-27 fiscal year, I will be working hard to make these progressive, long-term generators a reality.
“Our job as legislators is to move forward with clear eyes about the work that lies ahead to achieve a better commonwealth -- one where everyone, regardless of income, background or ZIP code, has what they need to thrive. It’s an honor to fight for that future together.”