September 18, 2015
Harrisburg – Sept. 18, 2015 – State Sen. Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny/Westmoreland) said today that the Senate Republican stopgap budget plan is a non-starter because it represents one-third of an already-vetoed budget and it does not include property tax relief or a reasonable Marcellus Shale extraction tax.
Brewster voted against the $11.22 billion Republican stopgap budget proposal. The Republican short-term budget, which would fund government through Oct. 31, 2015, was approved along party lines.
The Senate Republican stopgap budget (Senate Bill 1000) is roughly one-third of the Republican budget (House Bill 1192) that was vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf in late June. Wolf has said that he plans to veto the stopgap if it reaches his desk.
Brewster’s comments:
“The Republican stopgap budget is simply a non-starter. The plan does not include property tax relief, nor does it have a responsible Marcellus Shale extraction tax that is tied to additional education funding.
“It is simply one-third of an already vetoed spending plan. Appropriately, the governor has pledged to veto this short-term effort. A stopgap spending plan addresses funding issues temporarily, but may result in more distress over the long-term. The whole exercise is a waste of time.
“Instead of working toward a comprehensive spending plan that includes real dollars for education, job creation, human services or deficit reduction, Republicans have refused to compromise and negotiate toward a resolution of the budget impasse.
“The governor has offered compromises and solutions on the two main Republican issues — pension reform and liquor sales — yet they continue to be inflexible. After more than two months of refusing to compromise, the best the Republicans can do is offer an unacceptable, short-term, short-sighted, deficient plan.”
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October 10, 2013
McKeesport – October 10, 2013 – State Sen. Jim Brewster said today that he was pleased to support plans introduced in the Senate that would freeze property taxes for seniors.
Brewster (D-Allegheny) said that he has co-sponsored Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi’s (R-Delaware) plan in addition to Sen. Lisa Boscola’s (D-Northampton) proposal – Senate Bill 484 – that freeze taxes for seniors. He said that he expects tax freeze legislation to be reviewed by the Senate in the near future.
“It is clear that we need to move forward with tax relief for all property taxpayers, but we can start with freezing taxes for seniors,” Brewster said. “There is so much pressure on seniors now and they need immediate help.”
Pileggi’s plan, introduced as Senate Bill 299, would freeze property taxes following the establishment of a base payment. Any person aged 65 years of age or older who has paid their taxes and had a homestead exemption for the previous five years would be eligible for the freeze. Qualifying seniors would not have to pay more taxes in excess of the base payment.
“As co-sponsor of both Sen. Pileggi and Boscola’s plans, I am strongly supportive of any effort that reduces the tax burden faced by seniors,” Brewster said. “We also need to move quickly to enact a comprehensive reform that meets the needs of all property taxpayers.”
Brewster said he has sponsored legislation by Sen. David Argall (R-Carbon/Schuylkill/Berks) called the Property Tax Independence Act (Senate Bill 76) that would totally eliminate school property taxes and replace that levy with a combination of personal income and sales taxes. This plan provides a two-year phase in tax elimination period and sales taxes would generate about two-thirds of revenue necessary to replace property taxes.
The lawmaker said that there is renewed energy in the General Assembly to act on property-tax relief legislation. He said that analysts from the state’s Independent Fiscal Office are slated to appear at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday, October 15 to discuss the Senate and House (House Bill 76) plans that eliminate property taxes.
“The bottom line is that we need to act soon to address the hardship experienced by seniors and other property taxpayers resulting from high property tax bills,” Brewster said. “Doing nothing is not an option.”
Brewster is the former mayor of McKeesport and now serves as Democratic chair of the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee.
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August 20, 2013
Harrisburg, Aug. 20, 2013 – The chairmen of the Senate Urban Affairs & Housing Committee are working to build bipartisan support for a bill that would eliminate school property taxes.
Senator David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill) and Senator Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny) chair the committee with oversight of issues impacting housing across the state.
“We heard plenty of individuals testify about the need for local tax reform during our hearings on the future of cities,” Brewster said. “Building a bipartisan coalition of legislators proves this is not a Democrat or Republican issue; this is a taxpayer’s issue.”
Brewster sees school tax elimination as a solution for homeowners who struggle to make ends meet and an opportunity to improve urban communities.
“We have been making tremendous strides toward building legislative support from every corner of the state, including the southwest,” Argall said. Argall introduced similar legislation last session that gained 13 co-sponsors out of the 50-member Senate.
This year, Argall points to the addition of 9 Senate co-sponsors; bringing the total co-sponsors to 22, including 10 Democrats. Argall credits the grassroots activists, along with Democrat and Republican elected officials working in a bipartisan manner.
Senate Bill 76 and its House companion, House Bill 76, were developed by the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayers Association, a statewide grassroots taxpayer organization with over 80 chapters.
Argall and Brewster will soon release with the House Urban Affairs Committee a committee report detailing the findings from their hearings on the future of cities, large and small. The joint committee report will highlight suggestions offered by testifiers at the three hearings in Pittsburgh, York and Reading held at the beginning of summer. Some suggested school tax reform as an option to fix budget woes cities are currently facing.
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