A top Pennsylvania Republican says marijuana legalization will not be included in the 2026 budget as lawmakers approach a deadline he expects they will miss. But Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is still holding out hope that negotiators can “get it done.”
With the budget due by a constitutionally mandated deadline of June 30, legislators appear to be at an impasse on certain key issues, including the governor’s request to legalize adult-use cannabis via the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) said he doesn’t see a path forward for the reform on that schedule, however.
Shapiro, on the other hand, hasn’t quite thrown in the towel, saying at a press briefing on Wednesday that “we all understand we have to compromise” on a number of issues to reach a budget agreement.
“We also, I think, all understand the set of issues we have to work through—and we’re going to continue to work through them,” he said. “We’re each going to have to give a little bit. We’re going to make progress. We’re going to get it done.”
The governor said that he doesn’t quite understand why GOP lawmakers wouldn’t support enacting legalization given that, in the current policy environment, Pennsylvanians
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