Pennsylvania Treasury says OpenBookPA now includes approximately 100 budget-waiver letters and corresponding memos from fiscal year 2025–26. The records show agency requests to keep unspent state funds from lapsing, and the review process Treasury describes; they do not, by themselves, show how much money was ultimately spent or whether a program succeeded.
What are Pennsylvania budget waivers?
Most Pennsylvania General Fund appropriations cover one fiscal year, running from July 1 through June 30. Treasury says unspent funds that are not encumbered generally lapse at the end of that year. A budget waiver is an exception to that normal lapse rule: it can allow funds to remain available beyond the fiscal-year end. It is not evidence that the money was later spent.
Treasury identifies the authority as section 621(m) of Act 146 of 1980. The provision says: “The Secretary of the Budget shall have the power to waive any of the provisions included in section 621 upon written request of an agency justifying an exception to these provisions which is in the best interests of the Commonwealth.” OpenBookPA’s Act 146 Waivers page describes the authority and the records associated with the process.
What records are now on OpenBookPA?
In an announcement dated September 30, 2026, Pennsylvania Treasury said approximately 100 letters and corresponding memos from FY 2025–26 were available. The figure is an approximate document count, not a dollar total or a count of successful spending outcomes. Treasury did not publish an aggregate value for the newly posted waiver requests. Treasury’s announcement describes the addition.
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Waiver request letter
The letter transmits an agency’s request and justification to the leaders of the majority and minority Appropriations Committees in both the Pennsylvania House and Senate. Treasury says this gives the committees an opportunity to review and comment.
“10-Day Memo”
Treasury describes a second record, an approval memo issued to the agency ten days after the initial request if no objections have been raised. The portal calls it a “10-Day Memo.” Read the letter and memo for the specific request and its status; the general description of the process does not establish the merits of an individual waiver.
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Where can I find Pennsylvania budget waiver letters?
Go to OpenBookPA and open the “Act 146 Waivers” area. Treasury’s page groups the records under “Waiver Letters” and “Waiver 10 Day Memos.” The letters and memos are the relevant documents to consult for an individual request, including its agency, justification, and related approval record.
OpenBookPA contains other financial information too, but different sections cover different records. Do not treat a separate accounting category, such as Live Ledger 5, as an Act 146 waiver. If a record you need is not posted online, the Office of the Budget says some public records may be requested through the Right-to-Know process; its general guidance is at Right-to-Know Requests.
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- It documents a request and administrative review: the letter records the agency’s justification, and the memo records the approval step Treasury describes when no objection has been raised.
- It does not prove expenditure: permission for funds to remain available after the normal lapse date is distinct from proof that funds were actually paid out.
- It does not measure results: a request, letter, or memo alone does not establish whether the funded activity achieved its intended outcome.
- It is not a published aggregate dollar figure: Treasury’s announcement gives an approximate document count, not a combined value for the waiver requests.
How OpenBookPA’s other data fits in
Treasury describes OpenBookPA as a broader transparency portal, with resources including the annual Payment Production and Improper Payments Report, Live Ledger 5 data, consumer-program information, federal-fund details, the Treasury Checkbook, and the Contracts e-Library. Treasury says the Contracts e-Library presents state contracts, purchase orders, and amendments valued at $5,000 or more. These sections provide context but are not substitutes for the waiver documents.
The Treasury Checkbook also has a defined scope. Its portal notes say it shows Treasury payments beginning September 23, 2019; check numbers are not provided, processing time varies, and expenses that do not meet publishing requirements may appear under generic payee labels. It should not be read as a complete list of every Commonwealth payment. See the Checkbook data notes on OpenBookPA when using its results.
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For context, a separate Treasury release dated September 21, 2026, said its updated Payment Production and Improper Payments Report reflected $75 million in savings for the Commonwealth. Treasury also reported that its Bureau of Fiscal Review audited more than 10.6 million payments worth $249.5 billion. Those figures concern Treasury’s payment review and report, not the value of the new waiver records. Treasury’s release provides that context.
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