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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 16, 2022 01:58 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator John DiSanto and Sen. David G. Argall, Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, Sen. Patrick J. Stefano |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Constitutional Amendment to Eliminate School Property Taxes |
| We will soon reintroduce a constitutional amendment to end the imposition of school property taxes and compel this General Assembly to enact a more equitable alternative to fund public education. The people of Pennsylvania have spoken forcefully at town hall meetings as well as in the voting booth about the need to eliminate this archaic and unfair tax. For decades, relief measures such as school property tax referendums and casino gaming have fallen short of expectations and have done little to ease the burden of Pennsylvania homeowners—especially our seniors living on fixed-incomes. In 2017, Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment expanding the homestead exclusion to 100 percent of a home’s assessed value, yet five more years have passed with no meaningful property tax reforms. Constituents in our districts and across the entire Commonwealth are suffering greatly under the weight of constantly increasing school property taxes. The status-quo is unacceptable, and unlike previous reform measures this constitutional amendment would force the General Assembly to address this issue once and for all. Powerful and entrenched special interests opposing reform would no longer be able to block needed action. This constitutional amendment would also guarantee that our local school districts receive the same amount of revenue as they did from the property tax, so education funding would be more equitable for taxpayers while ensuring school needs are met. No tax should have the power to leave you homeless and only total elimination will ensure Pennsylvanians are secure in their homes. This proposal was previously Senate Bill 424 in the 2021-22 session and the cosponsors were Argall, Martin, Phillips-Hill, Stefano, Aument, Boscola, Scavello, Baker, Mastriano, Pittman, and J. Ward. Please join us in cosponsoring this essential legislation that will allow the people of Pennsylvania directly to decide the future of school property tax elimination. |
Introduced as SB1049