Regular Session 2023-2024 Senate Bill 0225 P.N. 0852

PRINTER'S NO. 852

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

No.

225

Session of

2023

INTRODUCED BY DUSH, PENNYCUICK, BAKER, HUTCHINSON, BARTOLOTTA

AND LAUGHLIN, JUNE 6, 2023

REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JUNE 6, 2023

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled

"An act relating to the finances of the State government;

providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for

ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint

Underwriting Association, for entertainment business

financial management firms, for private dam financial

assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for

the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,

bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the

collection and recovery of fees and other money or property

due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,

the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds

and securities belonging to or in the possession of the

Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the

Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the

courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the

Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and

all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting

moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,

authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes

to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of

section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of

Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of

certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every

department, board, commission, and officer of the State

government, every political subdivision of the State, and

certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,

association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or

collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws

imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or

other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the

Commonwealth," in general budget implementation, further

providing for Federal and Commonwealth use of forest land.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 1798.1-E(b) and (f) of the act of April

9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, are amended

and the section is amended by adding a subsection to read:

Section 1798.1-E. Federal and Commonwealth use of forest land.

* * *

(b) Charge.--

(1) For land owned by the Department of Conservation and

Natural Resources, subject to subsection (c), real property

under subsection (a) shall be subject to an annual charge of:

(i) [$2] $2.85 per acre for the benefit of each

county where the real property is located;

(ii) [$2] $2.85 per acre for the benefit of the

schools in each school district where the real property

is located; and

(iii) [$2] $2.85 per acre for the benefit of the

township where the real property is located.

(2) For land owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission

or the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

(i) [$1.20] $1.70 per acre for the benefit of each

county where the real property is located;

(ii) [$1.20] $1.70 per acre for the benefit of the

schools in each school district where the real property

is located; and

(iii) [$1.20] $1.70 per acre for the benefit of the

township where the real property is located.

(3) Subject to subsection (f), the charge under

paragraph (1) shall be payable by the Commonwealth before

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September 2.

* * *

(f) Source of payment.--For real property owned by the

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the

Pennsylvania Game Commission or the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat

Commission, of the charge per acre under subsection (b):

(1) [$2.40] Two-thirds of the dollar amount, rounded to

the nearest cent, shall be paid from money available under 4

Pa.C.S. § 1403 (relating to establishment of State Gaming

Fund and net slot machine revenue distribution); and

(2) the remainder shall be paid by the Commonwealth

agency which owns the property.

(g) Adjustments based on Consumer Price Index.--Adjustments

to the base amounts in subsection (b) shall be made as follows:

(1) The Department of Labor and Industry shall determine

the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All

Urban Consumers: All Items (CPI-U) for the United States City

Average as published by the United States Department of

Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the twelve-month

period ending April 30, 2023, and for each successive 12-

month period thereafter.

(2) If the Department of Labor and Industry determines

that there is no positive percentage change, no adjustment to

the base amounts shall occur for the relevant time period.

(3) The following apply:

(i) If the Department of Labor and Industry

determines that there is a positive percentage change in

the first year that the determination is made under

paragraph (1), the positive percentage change shall be

multiplied by each base amount, and the products shall be

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added to the base amounts, respectively, and the sums

shall be preliminary adjusted amounts.

(ii) The preliminary adjusted amounts shall be

rounded to the nearest cent to determine the final

adjusted base amounts.

(4) In each successive year in which there is a positive

percentage change in the CPI-U for the United States City

Average, the positive percentage change shall be multiplied

by the most recent preliminary adjusted amounts, and the

products shall be added to the preliminary adjusted amount of

the prior year to calculate the preliminary adjusted amounts

for the current year. The sums thereof shall be rounded to

the nearest cent to determine the new final adjusted base

amounts.

(5) The determinations and adjustments required under

this section shall be made in the period between May 1 and

June 15, 2023, and annually between May 1 and June 15 of each

year thereafter.

(6) The final adjusted base amounts and new final

adjusted base amounts obtained under paragraphs (3) and (4)

shall become effective for the fiscal year following the

fiscal year in which the determination required under

paragraph (1) is made.

(7) The Department of Labor and Industry shall transmit

notice to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in

the next available issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin prior

to July 1 of each year of the annual percentage change

determined under paragraph (1) and the unadjusted or final

adjusted base amounts determined under paragraphs (3) and

(4), respectively, for the fiscal year beginning the first

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day of July after publication of the notice.

(8) The annual increase in the preliminary adjusted base

amounts obtained under paragraphs (3) and (4) shall not

exceed 5%.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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