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03/29/2024 04:53 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=12941
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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: June 10, 2013 11:02 AM
From: Representative Ted Harhai
To: All House members
Subject: Co-sponsorship Legislation: Reintroduction of HB 1050 (2011-2012 Session): Temporary Aid for School Districts
 
In the near future, I plan to reintroduce legislation to amend the Public School Code of 1949 to provide temporary aid to school districts suffering a loss of payment in lieu of taxes from local sources. This legislation is fundamentally identical to HB 1050 introduced last session.

The current economic climate around the state has resulted in a number of businesses closing or relocating in an attempt to save costs. When a large employer suddenly leaves a municipality, local tax revenues, including school district budgets, often take a profound and sudden monetary hit. In light of current fiscal constraints, school boards from one end of the state to the other have cut staff, trimmed expenses, and raised taxes in an attempt to combat significantly lower tax revenues and ever-rising costs.

In some school districts, one employer is often responsible for generating a large amount of revenue for the support of the local public school system. As such, when these businesses suddenly relocate it can have a disastrous effect on school budgets. In an effort to address this, my legislation will allow school districts which experience at least a 25 percent loss in payment in lieu of taxes caused by the relocation of a business to be eligible to receive temporary aid from the Department of Education for a period of two years. Funds under this legislation shall be provided by undistributed basic education funds to the extent that such funds are available. My legislation will allow school districts affected by the abrupt relocation of a business some financial breathing room when balancing their budgets and meeting short-term expenditures. Similar temporary special aid programs are available when a district loses revenue as a result of property reassessments or bankruptcy of businesses in the district.

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Introduced as HB1531