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03/28/2024 12:32 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20210&cosponId=35065
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House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 15, 2021 02:06 PM
From: Representative P. Michael Sturla
To: All House members
Subject: Fee for Municipalities on Pennsylvania State Police Coverage
 
In the near future, I plan to reintroduce my bill (former H.B. 959 of 2017) that would require municipalities relying on the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) for part-time and full-time coverage to pay a fee for those services.

Roughly two-thirds of Pennsylvania municipalities rely on PSP for patrol services in lieu of a full-time local police force. And while the area covered by PSP encompasses 82 percent of the Commonwealth’s land mass, it benefits only 26 percent of Commonwealth residents. Meanwhile, the remaining 74 percent of PA residents who pay local taxes to fund their full-time local police services are also paying state taxes and fees to support PSP, essentially subsidizing free police protection for municipalities that choose not to fund their own local patrols.
 
Even with a statutory cap for funding received from the Motor License Fund, the PSP will still receive $705.5 million in 2020-21 and it will continue to decrease $32 million annually until reaching $500 million in 2027-28.
My proposal would have the annual overall fee charged to municipalities correlate with Section 1798.2E of the Fiscal Code to close the gap in funding that PSP will no longer be receiving from the Motor License Fund. Municipalities that receive part-time PSP services would be charged a rate of one-third of what municipalities receiving full-time PSP patrol services are charged. Any municipality opting to implement their own local police force or join their neighboring municipalities and create a regional police force will no longer have to pay a fee.
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation.



Introduced as HB1165