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Act 72 Statement from Jubelirer's Chief Counsel
and Brightbill's Chief of Staff
HARRISBURG -- Drew
Crompton, chief counsel to Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer, and
Erik Arneson, chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill,
today issued the following statement regarding Act 72:
“The governor is obviously upset that
his plan to provide a property tax reduction was thoroughly defeated across the
state. However, to suggest that the provision making participation optional is
somehow the fault of the legislature -- and Senator Jubelirer in particular --
is simply revisionist history.
“Senate Bill 100 as it first passed
the Senate -- with only Republican votes and without the support of Gov. Rendell
-- did not include an option for school boards as was contained in Act 72.
“During the development of Act 72,
Donna Cooper, the governor’s secretary of planning and policy, sat at the head
of the table and led every negotiation session that involved the four caucuses.
These meetings took place in the governor’s suite. His people led the effort --
and never once did they object to the ‘optional’ provision as the process moved
forward. In fact, Secretary Cooper supported the ‘optional’ provision.
“In one breath, the governor claims
that he wants to work with the legislature. In the next breath, he says
Republicans in the legislature are the reason for Act 72’s failure. In the next,
he says that he’s not playing the blame game.
“In fact, Senator Jubelirer was not
even invited by the governor to the Act 72 bill signing, legislation that the
governor at the time proclaimed as ‘historic.’
“Near the end of today’s press
conference, the governor told reporters to look at his original property tax
proposal. We did, and we were reminded that his original measure -- the
so-called ‘Plan for a New Pennsylvania’ -- would have increased the personal
income tax to 3.75%, taking an additional $3.5 billion out of the pockets of
hard-working Pennsylvanians. Senate Republicans did object to mandating a PIT
increase of 34 percent.”
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