Monday, July 23, 2007
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG -- Of all the thorny political issues that have bedeviled state legislators during the past 30 years, property tax relief is probably Numero Uno.
But two top House Democratic officials, Majority Leader Bill DeWeese of Waynesburg and Majority Whip Keith McCall of Carbon, say they're going to give it another shot when the Legislature returns to work Sept. 17.
"We are committed to making property tax reform the pre-eminent issue come this fall," Mr. McCall said in an interview last week. "We want to show the Senate we are serious about this issue."
"We want to pass a bill and send it to the Senate," said Mr. DeWeese.
They said a wide range of possible property tax relief options will be considered. One is Mr. DeWeese's idea for a 0.5 percent increase in the state sales tax. That would generate about $700 million, with all of it going to lower property taxes. Gov. Ed Rendell has talked about going Mr. DeWeese one better -- raising the sales tax a full percentage point, with all $1.4 billion going to lower property taxes.
Then there is Rep. Samuel Rohrer's idea. Mr. Rohrer, R-Berks, and some other conservative Republicans have pushed for four years to reduce the sales tax to 5 percent statewide but greatly broaden the base by taxing food and clothing, which are now exempt.
Mr. McCall said that even the most wide-ranging plan, called "Stop Taxing Our Properties," will be discussed. The STOP plan, championed by former KDKA radio talk show host Bob Logue, would combine a higher sales tax, a higher state income tax and new slots revenues to raise about $8 billion, which advocates say would be enough to completely eliminate property taxes on primary residences.
"We're taking them all [under consideration]," Mr. McCall said. "We want to bring all the minds together and make this a bipartisan effort. We're going to look to see how we can do this (property tax relief) with the least amount of pain. You have to spread this to broad-based taxes to make it work."
Mr. Rendell fought to legalize slot machines in 2004, claiming they would raise up to $1 billion a year for property tax reduction once all 14 casinos were up and fully running. But legal challenges have slowed the process, and so far only five racetrack casinos are operating. The other nine facilities probably won't be fully functional for another two years.
The Democratic leaders said two other ideas also will be priorities this fall: expanding the state's open records law, to make it easier for citizens to learn what's going on in state government, and campaign finance' reform, such as whether to put limits on donations to political candidates. Senate Republican leader Dominic Pileggi of Chester said he'll also push for making it easier for citizens to obtain government records.
The legislators' priorities will be joined to an ambitious agenda Mr. Rendell already is talking about for the fall session. He is insisting that the Legislature resume efforts to enact a tough ban on smoking in public places and workplaces, continue work on his energy initiatives and find new funding to pay for cleaning up hazardous waste sites.
Republican legislators this past spring shot down Mr. Rendell's plan to increase residential electric bills by $5.40 a year to finance an $850 million fund that would provide incentives for people to buy energy-efficient appliances. He now wants them to figure out an alternative.
Many legislators disliked another bill, which would have shifted $40 million from the Keystone Recreation Fund to bail out the nearly empty Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund. The recreation fund pays for parks, libraries and other items. So Mr. Rendell wants them to come up with a funding solution for hazardous waste sites.
House and Senate members passed different versions of the smoking ban legislation, and the governor wants them to agree on one version that he can sign.
Tom Barnes can be reached at tbarnes@post-gazette.com or 1=717-787-4254.
