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Senate Panel to Hold First Hearing During
Special Session on Property Tax Reform
HARRISBURG -- A
special Senate panel will hold its first public hearing on the high priority
issue of reducing school property taxes at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 19,
in the PUC Hearing Room #1, located in the North Office building of the
Capitol. The panel will hear testimony on three local tax reform plans proposed
by Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer (R-Blair), Senator Robert
Mellow (D-Lackawanna) and the Rendell Administration.
Senator Noah Wenger
(R-Lancaster) serves as Chairman of the newly created Committee on Legislation,
whose members were appointed by Senate leaders today and will be responsible for
considering legislation introduced during the General Assembly's Special Session
on Property Tax Reform.
“The committee is ready to
begin tackling the issue this week and to hear details on the various plans,”
Wenger said. “We need to work in this Special Session to find the right balance
between local taxes and state support so that our schools are funded properly
and our taxpayers are not overburdened.”
Wenger noted that many
senators have developed a menu of options that will be discussed in detail
during the Special Session, and at future hearings of the Committee on
Legislation.
“The Administration and
members of the General Assembly have developed many innovative plans for
delivering property tax relief, and all of those options are on the table for
debate,” Wenger said. “In the weeks ahead, we will carefully examine every
proposal to ensure that we provide meaningful relief that will help property
owners now.”
According to Wenger, additional hearings are
planned for the next two weeks so that other Senate members can discuss their
proposals. “Our goal is to work in an open, bi-partisan process to build a
consensus so that we can give Pennsylvanians the property tax relief they need,”
Wenger said.
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