HARRISBURG — In his first budget proposal as Pennsylvania’s chief executive, Gov. Josh Shapiro is calling for $1 billion in new education spending, permanent state funding for public defenders, and an expansion of a shrinking rebate program for older people.

The $44.4 billion proposal — a 3.6% spending increase over the current fiscal year — is based on what the Democrat called “conservative” future revenue estimates in a Tuesday speech to the legislature. He said his plan attempts to preserve Pennsylvania’s flush coffers to avoid future tax increases or budget cuts while replacing federal monies with state dollars to fund a number of pandemic-era policies.

Flanked by the General Assembly’s first female chamber leaders — state House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) and state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) — Shapiro called his pitch a “commonsense budget” that is a “reflection of our reality.”

“And nothing gets done unless a majority in her chamber agree,” Shapiro said.

The speech kicks off four months of public hearings and private meetings between the executive and the divided legislature. Republicans control the state Senate, and Democrats have a razor-thin hold on the state House. The deadline for a spending deal is June 30.