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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the Pennsylvania Senate and Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to support Pennsylvania House Bill No. 1661, the "Property Tax Reassessment Moratorium Act," and encouraging the Senate to pass and the Governor to sign this legislation with all due speed.
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WHEREAS, on June 10, 2009, Pennsylvania State Representative Frank Dermody introduced House Bill 1661, the "Property Tax Reassessment Moratorium Act,"; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 1661 garnered sweeping bipartisan support in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, passing on August 5 by a vote of 196-1; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 1661 as currently written provides for a temporary moratorium on court-ordered reassessments in order to permit the General Assembly to conduct a comprehensive study of the Commonwealth's property tax reassessment system and address the current problems with the system through enactment of legislation; and
WHEREAS, this moratorium would still permit counties to perform reassessments on a voluntary basis, and would remain in effect until the study is completed or until June 30, 2011, whichever comes first; and
WHEREAS, the moratorium would give the General Assembly suitable time to study Pennsylvania's current property tax system and to enact legislation to address deficiencies enumerated by the state Supreme Court last April in its decision in Clifton v. Allegheny County; and
WHEREAS, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania supports H.B. 1661, and it has confirmed that all of the counties currently involved in a court-ordered reassessment support the bill; and
WHEREAS, the Pennsylvania Senate began its consideration of House Bill 1661 on August 7, and the bill has been before the Senate Committee on Appropriations since August 26; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that the provisions of House Bill 1661 represent a well-reasoned and considered approach to addressing the state...
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