Pennsylvania Opens Budget Waiver Records to Public Scrutiny

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HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Treasury has added roughly 100 fiscal 2025-26 budget waiver letters and corresponding memos to OpenBookPA, giving the public direct access to records showing when state agencies seek authority to keep spending appropriated money beyond the end of a fiscal year.

The records are available at https://patreasury.gov/openbookpa/act-146-waivers.php.

Most state appropriations cover a single fiscal year running from July 1 through June 30, with unspent funds generally lapsing after that period. Act 146 of 1980 gives the state Budget Secretary authority to waive those requirements, allowing agencies to use remaining funds from prior fiscal years for state operations and programs.

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The newly published records include letters sent by the Budget Secretary to the majority and minority chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations committees detailing agency requests to prevent funds from expiring.

OpenBookPA also provides the corresponding approval memorandums issued by the Budget Secretary following the review period.

“Every new feature we add to OpenBookPA shines a bright light on an aspect of our state finances that was previously in the dark to the public,” Treasurer Stacy Garrity said. She called increased access to state financial information one of her priorities.

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The waiver records expand a Treasury transparency portal that already provides state spending and financial information, including the annual Payment Production and Improper Payments Report, Live Ledger 5 data, information on federal funding and county- and state-level data on Treasury consumer programs.

OpenBookPA also houses the Treasury Checkbook, which tracks payments to Treasury vendors, and the Contracts e-Library, a searchable repository for state contracts, purchase orders and amendments valued at $5,000 or more.

Additional state financial information is available at https://patreasury.gov/OpenBookPA.

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