Legislation Quick Search
03/19/2024 06:20 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20170&cosponId=25840
Share:
Home / Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: May 11, 2018 10:42 AM
From: Senator Mike Regan
To: All Senate members
Subject: Automatic Escalator for EITC/OSTC Scholarships
 
For years Pennsylvania’s Tax Credit Scholarship programs were recognized as a national model, helping thousands of students choose a school that best fits their needs. Since 2011, Florida and three other states have added automatic escalator provisions to their programs, which in turn, have grown exponentially while Pennsylvania’s have stagnated under the current scholarship caps.

In 2011 Pennsylvania awarded more tax credit scholarships than any other state, providing 40,000 scholarships to PA schoolchildren and their families. That same year Florida awarded only 34,550 scholarships. In 2018, with the automatic escalator provisions added, Florida awarded nearly 107,000 scholarships – more than double Pennsylvania’s 48,989.

In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to make scholarships available to thousands more Pennsylvania schoolchildren who seek the best possible education. This legislation will automatically increase the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) caps by 25 percent each Fiscal Year when at least 90 percent of the respective available tax credits were claimed in the previous Fiscal Year.

This legislation will offer a lifeline to thousands of additional students who are turned away from tax credit-funded scholarship programs each year.

Thank you for your interest in this important piece of legislation.



Introduced as SB1204