Seip responds to veto of bans on 'spot appeals' of assessments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Tim Seip D-Schuylkill/Berks
www.pahouse.com/Seip

Seip responds to veto of bans on 'spot appeals' of assessments

HARRISBURG, July 15 – State Rep. Tim Seip today responded to the governor's veto of legislation that would ban "spot" appeals of assessments (H.B. 1438 and S.B. 1247). Seip is the prime sponsor of H.B. 1438 and introduced a House version of S.B. 1247. The full text of the letter Seip sent to the governor today is below.

July 15, 2008

Governor Edward G. Rendell
225 Main Capitol
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Dear Governor Rendell:

With the veto of this bipartisan package of property tax legislation, fueling long-range economic devastation, you have turned your back on property tax reform and on incredibly vulnerable people. I have read your veto message and vehemently disagree with your explanation.

With fairness now cast by the wayside, you have given school districts across this Commonwealth the green light to pilfer everything they can from already overburdened taxpayers.

I could not disagree in strong enough terms with the veto. I take issue with the implication this legislation will strain school district budgets. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This legislation will actually save our community from a slow, but sure death of attrition. The spot appeals practice, a shortsighted money grab, only suffocates and squeezes economic life from our community, while an already overburdened aging population is left to totally fund public education.

I offered my legislation in September of 2007 at the urging of constituents, many of whom realized incredible property tax increases through spot appeals brought against them by school districts when they purchased a home. In several cases, seniors and those with disabilities were forced to pay higher taxes even though they downsized into smaller homes on smaller lots within the same school district. Many also experienced difficulty selling their homes because of the spot appeal practice.

Pennsylvania continues to fund public education with an archaic system that clamors for change. We need to identify stable resources to fund our schools even better, without harming our most vulnerable citizens or placing our economic future at risk.

I take some pride in knowing that my stand taken on behalf of those with little resources did not go unnoticed by my colleagues in the General Assembly who overwhelmingly supported and overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation to eliminate this shortsighted, harmful practice called spot appeals. However, I assure you that this showdown on spot appeals is not over. If you are sincere to the expressions in your veto letter, identifying spot appeals as problematic, I would urge and welcome your cooperation in remedying this problem. I pledge to continue to pursue every legislative avenue until spot appeals are eradicated from this Commonwealth.

Sincerely,
Rep. Tim Seip

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