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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 15, 2020 12:58 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Joe Ciresi |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | PILOTs for State Correctional Facility Lands (Former HB 1939) |
| Some state correctional facilities are located on huge tracts of tax-exempt state-owned land, which has resulted in the school districts and municipalities in which such prisons are located being strapped for tax revenues. Without such land as a present source of tax revenue, and without the potential for future economic development on such lands to bring in revenues, local taxing entities are left to struggle with limited options for improving the situation. Statewide, there are more than 13,000 acres of such state-owned lands, divided among 24 State Correctional Facilities at an average of 546 acres per facility. While some facilities have a minimal number of acres, such as SCI Chester with 13.7 acres, others are located on much larger land areas: SCI Camp Hill on 763 acres, SCI Muncy on 793 acres, SCI Dallas on 1333 acres, SCI Phoenix on 1878 acres, and SCI Rockview on a vast span of 4303.8 acres. With this in mind, as a matter of land tax fairness, my legislation would require the Department of Corrections to make annual payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) on state-owned lands where state correctional facilities are located. The fee would be $20 per acre, of which $12 would go to the local school district, $4 to the municipality, and $4 to the county. This legislation is modeled after similar PILOTs in place for land owned by other state entities, including the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Please join me in supporting the vital revenue needs of these unfairly disadvantaged school districts, townships, and counties. Prior Co-Sponsors: CIRESI, HILL-EVANS, FREEMAN, ULLMAN, RABB, COX, NEILSON, JOHNSON-HARRELL, FIEDLER, WEBSTER and MULLERY |
Introduced as HB189