Treasurer Stacy Garrity: Pennsylvania Law Is Clear – Taxpayer Funds Cannot be Used for Governor’s Private Residence

Harrisburg, PA - Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity today underscored that the Pennsylvania Treasury Department cannot legally pay for any expenses related to the Governor's private residence, including security upgrades that have already been made to his Montgomery County home.

"This is not a political decision, it's a legal one, and it's not a matter of simply choosing to pay these bills or not. Treasury's role is clear: we can only make payments that are properly authorized by law and appropriated by the legislature. Treasury simply does not have the authority to independently determine new categories of spending."

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

Garrity also addressed the status of the situation, noting the work in question has already been completed.

"The improvements to the private residence have already been made, and now there is a question of how those bills will be paid. But the timing of the work does not change the legal requirements. Payment still must be backed by a lawful appropriation."

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

Treasurer Garrity continued that her decision followed a comprehensive and deliberate review and that the decision is based on what the law allows - not politics.

"I have been transparent from the start by releasing the detailed letter sent to the Pennsylvania State Police that fully explains why Treasury has no legal basis to use taxpayer funds to pay for improvements to the Governor's personal home. We had asked the State Police several times for the legal justification to pay the bills, but they have not identified any valid authority to permit spending public dollars on private property."

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

Treasurer Garrity emphasized that Pennsylvania law and long-standing fiscal controls are designed specifically to prevent the misuse of taxpayer dollars by requiring explicit legislative approval before funds can be spent.

"These guardrails exist for a reason. They protect taxpayers by ensuring transparency, accountability, and fairness. No administration - Republican or Democrat - can bypass the law, regardless of circumstances."

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

While acknowledging the seriousness of any threats to public officials, Treasurer Garrity stressed that current state law does not allow payment for construction costs on non-public property.

"Everyone agrees that safety and security are critical. But good intentions do not override the law. If additional resources are necessary, there is a clear and appropriate path to provide them."

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

Treasurer Garrity pointed directly to the Governor, who has the power to act on the issue.

"The Governor could have avoided this issue by including the upgrades to his personal home in last year's budget, just as he did for improvements to the Governor's Official Residence in Harrisburg. He also could have pursued authorization in his budget proposal currently being considered in the General Assembly, in fact, he can still work with them on a legal way to pay the bills quickly."

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

The Treasurer reiterated her commitment to upholding the law and protecting taxpayers.

"My responsibility and sworn duty to all Pennsylvanians is to follow the law as written - not as some may wish it to be. We will continue to ensure that every dollar spent is properly authorized, transparent, and accountable to the people of Pennsylvania."

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

Media contacts:
Steven Chizmar, Deputy Treasurer for Communications, [email protected] or
Jake S. Sarwar, Deputy Press Secretary, [email protected]

Editor's note:
Video of Treasurer Garrity explaining the reasoning to not pay for improvements to the Governor's personal residence can be found here: patreasury.gov/video/newsroom/VNR-Not-Paying-for-Personal-Residence.mp4

The letter to State Police's Chief Counsel: https://patreasury.gov/pdf/newsroom/2026-04-23-Brendan-J-O-Malley-PSP-Chief-Counsel.pdf