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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Mike Sturla Chairman, Democratic Policy Committee | State Rep. Jesse White D-Allegheny/Beaver/Washington Hearing Co-Chairman |
Democratic Policy Committee looks at court-ordered reassessments
of property values
WASHINGTON, March 21 – The House Democratic Policy Committee today held a public hearing at the Courthouse Square Building in Washington to investigate the issue of court-ordered reassessments of property values, said Chairman Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster.
State Rep. Jesse White, D-Allegheny/Beaver/Washington, who requested the hearing served as co-chairman. White has introduced legislation (H.B. 166) to address Pennsylvania’s fragmented method of reassessing property values to protect homeowners from dramatic increases in property taxes.
"I applaud Representative White for his commitment to fully investigating this issue and the impact that court-ordered reassessments are having on his community," Sturla said.
"This is a critical component of property tax reform in Pennsylvania, because there is no rhyme or reason as to how property reassessments are conducted," White said. "We need a uniform process so that reassessments don’t lead to homeowners getting slapped with devastating tax increases that would be harmful to the citizens and economic well-being of our Commonwealth. The best way to begin fixing this system is to stop all assessments until we can create a fair and consistent process throughout the state."
Those testifying included Rich Fitzgerald, former president, Allegheny County Council; a panel from the
Board of Commissioners of Washington County: Larry Maggi, chairman and Diana Irey Vaughan, commissioner; Douglas Hill, executive director, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania; and Joe Zupancic, board member, Canon-McMillan School District.
For more information about the Policy Committee and hearing materials, visit www.pahouse.com/PolicyCommittee.
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