Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity said the State Treasury has declined to pay for over $1 million in security upgrades to Governor Josh Shapiro’s private residence in Abington Township, ABC27 reported today.

According to their coverage, Pennsylvania State Police had approved the use of public funds for the upgrades, but Garrity said State Police “simply ignored the statutory limits and restrictions on spending and procurement.”

She noted that the Treasury is bound to fiscal rules set by state lawmakers and the state’s fiscal code and insisted the decision is not related to her campaign for the governorship this fall.

“Treasury does not have the legal authority to use taxpayer funds for improvements to private property,” Garrity said in a statement Thursday. “Payment requests for security construction upgrades to the Governor’s private home with state funds is unprecedented.”

The security upgrades were first announced in October 2025 following the arson attack on the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg in April 2025. In November, the Pennsylvania Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee subpoenaed Pennsylvania State Police and Abington Township for more specifics. According to a letter from the Department of General Services and Pennsylvania State Police to Pennsylvania House and Senate leaders, upgrades include “erecting physical and visual barriers on the property, installing enhanced security technology, and other steps”.

Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Governor Shapiro’s office, responded to the decision.

“PSP authorized these payments to fulfill a core mission of their duties – to protect the Governor and his family after the Governor’s Residence was firebombed and rendered uninhabitable for several months,” said Lapowsky. “PSP is exploring all options to ensure the State Police’s authority is protected and the vendors who completed this work are paid in full. The Treasurer should put partisanship aside, follow the law, and show some humanity for a family that has experienced real trauma, the state troopers who protect them every day, and the vendors and workers who the Treasurer has now refused to pay.”

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