PRINTER'S NO. 1691
No. 154 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY LOGAN, JANUARY 29, 2002
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, JANUARY 29, 2002
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Governor to call for the convening of a special
2 session of the General Assembly in order to address
3 Pennsylvania's property tax system, which is the number one
4 source of funding for public education in this Commonwealth.
5 WHEREAS, The method Pennsylvania uses to fund public
6 education is nationally recognized as one of the most
7 inequitable among the 50 states because of the State's reliance
8 upon local property taxes as the single largest source of funds
9 for public schools; and
10 WHEREAS, There has been no fundamental reform of State
11 funding since 1983 despite growth in the opportunity gap and
12 economic decline in hundreds of communities; and
13 WHEREAS, Both the State share of the total cost of public
14 education and the percentage of the State budget dedicated to
15 public education have fallen dramatically, requiring similarly
16 dramatic increases in local property taxes that further
17 disadvantage taxpayers and students in poor and economically
18 struggling communities; and
19 WHEREAS, High local property taxes and a substantial
1 opportunity gap make it harder for local economic development
2 officials to bring new business and high-quality jobs to
3 communities with a weak economic base and substandard work
4 force; and
5 WHEREAS, Assessing the value of a person's home, which forms
6 the basis for how much a property owner will owe in taxes, is a
7 very subjective process that can be unfair and unreliable; and
8 WHEREAS, The recently concluded reassessment in Allegheny
9 County has brought to light how very subjective and inaccurate
10 our current system is; and
11 WHEREAS, Senior citizens have been hit the hardest by the
12 reassessment in Allegheny County, forcing many of them out of
13 their lifelong homes; and
14 WHEREAS, A special session will allow all the members of the
15 General Assembly to focus on this most important issue;
16 therefore be it
17 RESOLVED, That the Senate urge the Honorable Mark Schweiker,
18 Governor of the Commonwealth, to call for the convening of a
19 special session of the General Assembly in 2002 to study and
20 address the Commonwealth's property tax system.
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