PRINTER'S NO.  2141

  

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

  

HOUSE BILL

 

No.

1696

Session of

2011

  

  

INTRODUCED BY SACCONE, WHITE, NEUMAN, TURZAI, EVANKOVICH, MUSTIO, EMRICK, MURT, DUNBAR, GERGELY, D. COSTA, REESE, ELLIS, GABLER, MATZIE, HORNAMAN, SIMMONS, TOOHIL, BLOOM, MALONEY, CUTLER, CHRISTIANA AND GOODMAN, JUNE 20, 2011

  

  

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JUNE 20, 2011  

  

  

  

AN ACT

  

1

Providing for a temporary moratorium of court-ordered countywide

2

reassessments and for reforms based upon study.

3

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

4

hereby enacts as follows:

5

Section 1.  Short title.

6

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Property Tax

7

Reassessment Moratorium Act.

8

Section 2.  Findings and purpose.

9

The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:

10

(1)  The method of property tax assessment in this

11

Commonwealth is fragmented and in need of reform.

12

(2)  The current method provides for little uniformity

13

between counties resulting in vast inequities of property

14

assessments across this Commonwealth.

15

(3)  Further, the tax assessment system provides little

16

protection for homeowners who experience sudden and dramatic

17

increases in their property assessments as a result of a

 


1

countywide assessment.

2

(4)  Failure to address the problem has led to the

3

potential for devastating tax increases that would be harmful

4

to the citizens and economic well-being of this Commonwealth.

5

(5)  A study was conducted of the Commonwealth's property

6

assessment system.

7

(6)  The study addressed the proper policies and

8

procedures necessary to ensure uniformity among counties and

9

a comparative analysis of the property assessment systems in

10

other states.

11

(7)  The study concluded that changes are needed and the

12

General Assembly should enact legislation to address issues

13

raised by the study.

14

Section 3.  Definitions.

15

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall

16

have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

17

context clearly indicates otherwise:

18

"Local taxing authority."  Any political subdivision

19

authorized to impose real property taxes.

20

Section 4.  Moratorium.

21

(a)  Prohibition.--No local taxing authority may undertake,

22

on or after the effective date of this section, the process of a

23

court-ordered countywide reassessment of real property for

24

purposes of levying property taxes; however, counties currently

25

conducting a court-ordered countywide reassessment as of the

26

effective date of this section may, at the discretion of the

27

county, continue the process.

28

(b)  End of prohibition.--The prohibition under subsection

29

(a) shall remain in effect until the General Assembly has

30

enacted legislation to address the declarations contained in

- 2 -

 


1

section 2(1), (2), (3) and (4) or until November 30, 2012,

2

whichever comes first.

3

Section 5.  Effective date.

4

This act shall take effect immediately.

- 3 -