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Piccola Bill Imposing Reasonable Reporting Requirements for Scholarship
Organizations Passes Senate
HARRISBURG -- Addressing
the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s (DCED)
authority to collect information relating to scholarship and education
improvement organizations, Senate Majority Whip Jeff Piccola (R-15) lauded the
Senate today for passing Senate Bill 507 by a vote of 49-1, a measure he
sponsored with the support of key statewide education advocacy and policy
groups. Senate Bill 507 sets forth “specific and reasonable” reporting
requirements for these organizations to be eligible to participate in the
Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC).
Piccola made special mention
of Senate Education Committee Chairman James Rhoades (R-29) and a cosponsor of
the legislation. “My colleague, Jim Rhoades, led the fight in his committee for
the passage of this measure, and I know the many families who benefit from
scholarships are very grateful to him,” Piccola said.
The department proposed
earlier this year a new menu of reporting requirements for these organizations,
exceeding their authority under the law. Piccola introduced Senate Bill 507 to
protect scholarship organizations from intrusive and unnecessary regulations.
Under Piccola’s legislation, scholarship organizations would be required to
report information on the number and amount of scholarships awarded to DCED,
which would then collect and prepare an annual report in conjunction with the
State Department of Education.
“My bill provides specific
authority for data collection and ends the current controversy over what DCED
may or may not be authorized to collect,” said Piccola.
A number of state education
advocates including the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, the Pennsylvania
State Education Association, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, and the REACH
Alliance joined Piccola to share their strong support for Senate Bill 507.
Piccola called DCED’s initial
request to require each scholarship organization to submit a new end-of-year
report on its activities unfair and burdensome. “To require these organizations
to report information that they have not previously collected from scholarship
recipients is unwarranted. It’s difficult for me to understand why information
on a scholarship recipient’s household income and his or her previous school
enrollment is necessary to implement this program,” he said.
Serving as the President of a
local scholarship organization that was launched in Harrisburg over four years
ago, Piccola touted the program’s success for helping children and families in
Pennsylvania attend the school of their choice. “Thanks to the success of this
program, students from other districts are seeking scholarships to attend
schools in the Harrisburg School District for the first time -- which is
remarkable news. None of this would be possible if wasn’t for the EITC
program,” he said.
“Senate Bill 507 is designed
to protect the integrity of the EITC program and clarify what types of
information that the department is empowered to collect. It also ends any
uncertainty about the extent of the secretary’s authority. I look forward to
prompt consideration of this bill by the House so that the reporting process
I’ve proposed can get underway,” said Piccola.
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