SB 474 Pennsylvania Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act providing for zero-based budgeting relating to the Commonwealth's budget review.

This bill requires Pennsylvania state agencies to review every program from scratch every five years, starting in 2026. Agencies must justify each program's existence, detail costs for minimum vs. current service levels, and assess impacts if discontinued, except for classroom teaching, curriculum, and direct student services in public schools. The Secretary of the Budget will oversee this process, mandating detailed plans from agencies to ensure transparency and accountability in spending. It aims to replace incremental budgeting with a system that evaluates all programs based on current needs rather than historical spending.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Mar 19, 2025 Last action Oct 6, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN0429 Printer's No. PN0983 · 3 edits
MINOR
This bill version updates the zero-based budgeting schedule and clarifies the printer's reference number. The changes shift the initial zero-based budgeting timeline to begin in 2027 instead of 2026, and adjust the year the Governor must submit the initial zero-based budget from 2025 to 2026. These modifications provide a one-year delay in implementing the new budgeting requirements, giving agencies additional time to prepare.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on zero-based budgeting for state agencies, but the implementation timeline has been extended by one year.
TIMELINE

Zero-based budgeting implementation shifted from beginning in 2026 to beginning in 2027, providing agencies one additional year to prepare.

The year the Governor must submit the initial zero-based budget changed from 2025 to 2026, aligning with the revised implementation schedule.

TECHNICAL

Printer's reference number updated from PN 0429 to PN 0983 to reflect the amended version of the bill.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
1
Committee
1
Amendments
1
Jun 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported as amended
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Committee
Referred to Finance
upper
1 primary · 9 co-sponsors

Sponsors