PRINTER'S NO. 498
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
28
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY SCAVELLO, TOMLINSON, ALLOWAY, COSTA, ARGALL,
TEPLITZ, VOGEL, RAFFERTY, WILEY, YUDICHAK, VULAKOVICH, WARD,
BOSCOLA AND BAKER, FEBRUARY 23, 2015
REFERRED TO FINANCE, FEBRUARY 23, 2015
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Establishing the Joint Select Committee on Institutions of
Purely Public Charity.
WHEREAS, Public charities play an important role in meeting
the needs of our communities, helping vulnerable populations in
this Commonwealth and reducing the burden of local governments
with regard to administering government functions for those
populations; and
WHEREAS, These burdensome administrative functions, which are
in large part funded by real property taxes, would be even
greater if not for public charities; and
WHEREAS, Section 2 of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania provides that the General Assembly "may by law
exempt from taxation institutions of purely public charity, but
in the case of any real property tax exemptions only that
portion of real property of such institution which is actually
and regularly used for the purposes of the institution"; and
WHEREAS, In 1997, the General Assembly made its first attempt
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
to implement the power provided to it under section 2 of Article
VIII of the Constitution of Pennsylvania by enacting the act of
November 26, 1997 (P.L.508, No.55), known as the Institutions of
Purely Public Charity Act; and
WHEREAS, The act's intent was to provide for clear and
uniform standards that specify which institutions may claim an
exemption, and to better enable the implementation of the
provision under section 2 of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania providing for an exemption only to "portions of
real property" which are actually used for charitable purposes;
and
WHEREAS, Since the enactment of the Institutions of Purely
Public Charity Act, many nonprofit institutions have grown
dramatically; and
WHEREAS, While there is universal agreement that this
Commonwealth needs a legal environment where public charities
can thrive, municipalities and school districts are struggling
with the increasing costs of services and the expansion of
charitable tax deductions; and
WHEARAS, The interests of our counties, municipalities and
school districts and taxpayers must be carefully balanced with
the interests of public charities which provide critical
services to this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, In Mesivtah Eitz Chaim of Bobov, Inc. v. Pike County
Bd. of Assessment Appeals 615 Pa. 463, 44 A.3d 3 (2012), the
Supreme Court created further confusion over the Institutions of
Purely Public Charity Act regarding charitable tax exemptions
and the potential for nonuniform application of the exemptions;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, (the House of Representatives concurring), That the
20150SR0028PN0498 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
General Assembly establish the Joint Select Committee on
Institutions of Purely Public Charity to examine, investigate
and complete a study of the laws of this Commonwealth regarding
tax exemptions provided to institutions of purely public
charity; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint Select Committee on Institutions of
Purely Public Charity consist of the following:
(1) Two members of the Senate appointed by the President
pro tempore of the Senate.
(2) One member of the Senate appointed by the Minority
Leader of the Senate.
(3) Two members of the House of Representatives
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(4) One member of the House of Representatives appointed
by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
(5) The chairman and minority chairman of the Finance
Committee of the Senate.
(6) The chairman and minority chairman of the Finance
Committee of the House of Representatives.
(7) The chairman and minority chairman of the Local
Government Committee of the Senate.
(8) The chairman and minority chairman of the Local
Government Committee of the House of Representatives.
(9) The Secretary of Revenue or the secretary's
designee;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the members of the Joint Select Committee on
Institutions of Purely Public Charity be appointed within 20
days of the passage of this resolution; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint Select Committee on Institutions of
20150SR0028PN0498 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Purely Public Charity meet within 10 days after all members are
appointed; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint Select Committee on Institutions of
Purely Public Charity be subject to 65 Pa.C.S. Ch.7 (relating to
public officers) and the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3),
known as the Right-to-Know Law; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint Select Committee on Institutions of
Purely Public Charity:
(1) collect input from stakeholders across this
Commonwealth;
(2) review the impact of public charities on local
governments; and
(3) study the economic impact of public charities and
the services public charities provide to residents of this
Commonwealth;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint Select Committee on Institutions of
Purely Public Charity conduct hearings in various geographic
areas across this Commonwealth and work with nonprofits, elected
officials, tax experts, public safety organizations and other
stakeholders to determine whether or not the laws of this
Commonwealth regarding purely public charities need to be
revised in general; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint Select Committee on Institutions of
Purely Public Charity determine whether or not the laws of this
Commonwealth need to be revised to achieve the appropriate
balance between the cost of services provided by local
governments and the protection of our public charities; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That no later than 12 months from the date of the
20150SR0028PN0498 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
appointment of the members to the Joint Select Committee on
Institutions of Purely Public Charity, the committee submit a
report of its findings to the following:
(1) The President pro tempore of the Senate.
(2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(3) The Finance Committee and the Local Government
Committee of the Senate.
(4) The Finance Committee and the Local Government Committee of
the House of Representatives.
20150SR0028PN0498 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9