Harrisburg, Pa. − November 12, 2025 − On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Senate passed SB 160, the FY 2025-2026 budget bill, which now heads to the Governor for his signature– 135 days after the budget deadline.
Senator Maria Collett (D-12 Montgomery, Democratic Caucus Chair) voted in favor of this year’s general appropriations bill and shared her comments with constituents in a video published Wednesday afternoon:
“I’m proud that this budget—while the product of compromise—delivers historic wins for everyday Pennsylvanians,” said Collett. “For the first time, we’ve created the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, a $193 million investment that means up to $805 extra in their pockets for nearly one million hardworking families. That’s real relief—for groceries, for gas, for keeping the lights on.”
The 2025-26 budget includes several of Collett’s top priorities: investments in childcare workforce recruitment and retention, increasing investments in public and special education, increasing support for direct care workers, and boosting local economies – all without raising taxes.
Collett, a registered nurse, highlighted the creation of the Nursing Shortage Assistance Program to provide up to $30,000 in tax-free student loan repayment for eligible Pennsylvania nurses: “This investment builds upon the success of my Student Loan Relief for Nurses program and will be a permanent fixture in expanding the healthcare workforce pipeline.”
Collett concluded: “This budget makes critical progress, but our work is not done. I remain fully committed to delivering results for my constituents, including sustained transportation and transit funding. The goal is simple: to rebalance the playing field—so that our working families, our students, our seniors matter more than corporate interests and deep pockets.”
You can hear Senator Collett’s full comments here.
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