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Follow Sen. Argall on Twitter for Senate happenings –
@SenatorArgall
In this Email Update:
Property tax elimination is the only real reliefWhen evaluating any property tax reform plan, one of the key considerations is ensuring homeowners receive permanent relief. Anything less than the total elimination of property taxes will inevitably lead to homeowners being engulfed in a tidal wave of painful tax increases over the next several years.
During a budget hearing with representatives from the Department of Revenue, Acting Secretary Eileen McNulty acknowledged the fact that the governor’s plan doesn’t prevent property taxes from increasing in the future. No matter how the Administration tries to spin the issue, there is no way taxpayers will come out ahead if they are forced to trade permanent increases in the sales tax and the personal income tax in exchange for a temporary property tax cut. My exchange with Secretary McNulty is available here. Governor’s temporary tax relief plan lacks uniformityOne of the most troubling problems with the governor’s temporary property tax relief plan is the disparity in how property tax cuts are distributed. The vast majority of school district taxpayers in the 29th Senatorial District would pay more under this partial property reduction plan; in fact, a preliminary analysis shows that taxpayers in 17 out of 21 school districts would pay more.
Another review of the governor’s plan indicates that school districts represented by Democrats do much better than school districts represented by Republicans. The distribution method creates a situation in which very wealthy individuals in one zip code could receive a large property tax cut, while a middle class homeowner in a nearby zip code could get much less relief. It’s hard to see how such a plan could pass the Constitutional mandate of providing a thorough and efficient system of public education with a uniform system of taxation. I raised these and other issues during a budget hearing with Acting Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera. Video of my questions is available here. Obamacare mandates, household goods moving industry scrutinizedMany local employers have reported an increase in the number of part-time jobs and a corresponding decrease in full-time positions due to health insurance mandates under Obamacare. This situation warrants further study on the local and statewide level in order to determine whether this evidence is anecdotal, or representative of a larger problem. I raised these concerns during a budget hearing with the Department of Labor and Industry this week. In addition, I questioned the Department’s enforcement activities to try to eliminate unfair competition from out-of-state companies in the household goods moving industry. Many out-of-state companies are not required to conform to the same standards as Pennsylvania-based companies, creating an uneven playing field for Pennsylvania businesses.
Both issues were discussed in the video available here. Exploring new measures to combat blightOne of the primary focuses of the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee over the past several years has been combating blight. The dangers associated with blight have been well-documented, and the General Assembly has made significant strides toward providing municipalities with the tools they need to help deal with this problem.
In speaking with Acting Secretary of Banking & Securities Robin Wiessmann this week, I explored the possibility of creating an expedited process to foreclose on blighted structures to help municipalities deal with these dangerous, financially draining eyesores. Video of our discussion on this issue is available here. Winter damage to infrastructure causes local concernsA number of local municipalities have reported public infrastructure damage due to winter weather. Following two brutally cold winters, water mains and other utility lines have been subjected to a great deal of stress that often require expensive repairs. Representatives from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency detailed many of the potential remedies for these problems during a hearing this week. Video of their testimony is available here.
Governor’s temporary tax relief could cause permanent headache for family farmsIn addition to the issues of uniformity and permanency of relief under the governor’s property tax plan, the impact of the proposal has raised concerns in the agriculture community. The property tax burden is one of the most challenging factors for many family farms, but very little relief in the governor’s plan is targeted to rural communities.
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau has spoken out in opposition to the governor’s plan due to the unfairness in how tax relief is distributed. Acting Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding spoke about the need to explore viable alternatives to the governor’s proposal in order to ensure the agriculture community receives true relief from the property tax burden. Video of our discussion on this topic is available here. Hearing focuses on measures to protect veterans, active duty militaryA recent $2 million project completed by the Ridgeview Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Shenandoah in partnership with the Veterans Administration in Wilkes-Barre and Lebanon will help better serve our veteran population. In discussing this issue with representatives from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, I urged the Department to explore similar ways to partner with the private sector to provide the services veterans need and deserve at a reduced cost.
I also requested an update on DMVA’s efforts to protect members of the military in light of recent threats against service members by terrorist groups. Video of our conversation is available here. Watch all clips from 2015-16 Senate Appropriations Committee hearingsOver three weeks, I focused on issues important to Schuylkill and Berks Counties during these hearings. My main concern is how the governor’s proposed budget will impact residents. (Recaps of the Senate Appropriations Committee state budget hearings are available here: Week 1 | Week 2.) You can watch all of my questions before during the Senate Appropriations
Committee public hearings on the Governor Wolf’s Fiscal Year 2015-16 state
budget proposal
here.
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