THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY BARBIN, KORTZ, DALEY, MURPHY, READSHAW, BURNS, HALUSKA, HORNAMAN, MURT, M. O'BRIEN, K. SMITH, SWANGER AND THOMAS, MARCH 12, 2010

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, MARCH 12, 2010  

AN ACT

Amending the act of June 9, 1936 (Sp. Sess., P.L.13, No.4),

entitled, as reenacted and amended, "An act imposing an

emergency State tax on liquor, as herein defined, sold by the

Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; providing for the

collection and payment of such tax; and imposing duties upon

the Department of Revenue and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control

Board," further providing for the emergency State tax on

liquor.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 2 of the act of June 9, 1936 (Sp. Sess.,

P.L.13, No.4), entitled "An act imposing an emergency State tax

on liquor, as herein defined, sold by the Pennsylvania Liquor

Control Board; providing for the collection and payment of such

tax; and imposing duties upon the Department of Revenue and the

Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board," reenacted and amended May

29, 1951 (P.L.479, No.112) and amended January 1, 1968 (1967,

P.L.917, No.413), is amended to read:

Section 2.  (a)  An emergency State tax is hereby imposed and

assessed at the rate of eighteen per centum of the net price of

all liquors sold by the board. The tax herein imposed shall be

collected by the board from the purchasers of the liquor from

the board. The amount of such eighteen per centum so collected

by the board, under the provisions of this act, shall be paid

into the State Treasury, through the department, in the manner

and within the times herein specified, and shall be credited [to

the General Fund.] ninety per centum to the General Fund and ten

per centum to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for deposit

in the Johnstown Flood Tax Trust Fund.

(b)  The tax shall be phased out as follows:

(1)  From January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011, the tax

shall be credited seventy per centum to the General Fund and ten

per centum to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for deposit

in the Johnstown Flood Tax Trust Fund and twenty per centum to

be divided equally between the State Employees' Retirement Fund

and Public School Employees' Retirement Fund.

(2)  From January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2012, the tax

shall be credited thirty per centum to the General Fund and ten

per centum to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for deposit

in the Johnstown Flood Tax Trust Fund and sixty per centum to be

divided equally between the State Employees' Retirement Fund and

Public School Employees' Retirement Fund.

(3)  From January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2013, the tax

shall  be credited ten per centum to the General Fund and ten

per centum to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for deposit

in the Johnstown Flood Tax Trust Fund and eighty per centum to

be divided equally between the State Employees' Retirement Fund

and Public School Employees' Retirement Fund.

(4)  From January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2020, the tax

shall be distributed equally between the State Employees'

Retirement Fund and the Public School Employees' Retirement

Fund.

(5)  Starting January 1, 2021, and thereafter, the tax shall

be collected at the rate of zero per centum.

Section 2.  The act is amended by adding sections to read:

Section 2.1.  All money distributed to the State Employees'

Retirement Fund and the Public School Employees' Retirement Fund

under section 2(b) shall be over and above the amount set forth

for employer contribution rates provided by 24 Pa.C.S. (relating

to education) and 71 Pa.C.S. (relating to State government).

Section 2.2.  (a)  There is established a separate account in

the Commonwealth Financing Authority to be known as the

Johnstown Flood Tax Trust Fund. This fund shall be administered

by the State Treasurer as determined by the Commonwealth

Financing Authority. All interest earned from the investment or

deposit of money accumulated in the fund shall be deposited in

the fund for the same use.

(b)    All money deposited into the fund shall be held in trust

and shall not be considered general revenue of the Commonwealth

but shall be used only to effectuate the purposes of this

section as determined by the Commonwealth Financing Authority

and shall be subject to audit by the Auditor General.

(c)  The money deposited in the Johnstown Flood Tax Trust

Fund shall be used to remove blighted properties from all cities

of the first class, second class, second class A and third

class. Grants shall be awarded to all municipalities that make

requests for such grants to the Commonwealth Financing Authority

by December 1 of each year. The Commonwealth Financing Authority

shall determine the specific amount of a grant to a municipality

by taking into consideration the following: the proportionate

number of blighted properties in the municipality, whether the

municipality is considered an Act 47 distressed municipality and

the general financial status of the municipality.

Section 3.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.