Pennsylvania lawmakers finally approved a budget deal, nearly two weeks into the new fiscal year. The nearly 48 billion dollar plan represents a 6% increase over last year’s spending, with most of the new money going towards public schools and human services, to boost pay for direct day care workers. The plan also devotes more money to making college more affordable, and hundreds of millions to compete for huge new projects like multibillion-dollar microchip plants. The plan does not increase sales or income tax rates, but the package does include cuts for businesses to deduct more losses, and students to deduct loan interest. Governor Shapiro signed the main spending bill late last night.