The final vote failed when a 24-24 tie was broken by Lieutenant Governor Michael Stack.
Senator David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks) released the following statement regarding tonight’s vote.
“While this legislation did not gain enough votes to pass the Senate today, the problem of ever-rising school property taxes does not go away. Each session, we continue to pick up support in all parts of the state and tonight’s tie vote in the Senate shows the importance of this issue.
“Earlier today, the governor said that school property tax elimination is a ‘distraction.’ I don’t think the people who are losing their homes due to school property taxes would call this issue a ‘distraction.’ I’ve got news for the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor who voted against us: we are not giving up.”
“Earlier today, the governor said that school property tax elimination is a ‘distraction.’ I don’t think the people who are losing their homes due to school property taxes would call this issue a ‘distraction.’ I’ve got news for the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor who voted against us: we are not giving up.”
The Property Tax Independence Act was drafted by the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations with more than 80 member groups, including:
- Adams 912 Patriots
- Allegheny Valley Citizens Against New School
- Berks County Patriots
- Berks Tea Party
- Bradford County Concerned Citizens
- Bristol Boro Taxpayers Association
- Butler County Taxpayer Alliance
- Carbon County Coalition of Taxpayers
- Central Bucks Taxpayers Association
- Central Penn Patriots
- ChesCo Taxpayer Alert
- Ches-Lan Anti School Tax Association
- Citizens Against Higher Taxes
- Citizens Against Property Taxes
- Citizens for the Elimination of Property Taxes
- Citizens for Responsible Education
- Clearfield Co. Homeowners Against Property Tax
- Coatesville Taxpayers Alliance
- Columbia County Taxpayer Coalition
- Community School Watch of Tulpehocken
- Concerned Citizens for Common Cents Education
- Concerned Citizens of Bethlehem A.S.D.
- Concerned Citizens of Nazareth A.S.D.
- Dallastown Area Taxpayers Coalition
- Daniel Boone Taxpayer Activists
- Dauphin Co. Citizens for Property Tax Elimination
- Delaware County 55+ Coalition
- Delaware County Taxpayers Coalition
- Elverson Taxpayers Forum
- Erie Co. Voters for Property Tax Elimination
- Fayette Patriots
- Fed Up
- Franklin County 9/12 Patriots
- Freeport Area Taxpayers for Home Ownership
- Greene Co. Coalition of Taxpayers
- Grove City Student Taxpayer Coalition
- Hanover Tea Party Patriots
- Lebanon 9-12 Project
- Lehigh Valley 9-12 Project
- Lower Bucks Co. Taxpayers Association
- Luzerne County Property Owners
- Mercer County Freedom Alliance
- Monroe and Pike Taxpayers Association
- Monroe County Taxpayer Coalition
- Mon Valley Citizens for Tax Reform
- Morrisville Citizens for Quality, Safe, Responsible Education
- Mountain Top on the Move
- Neighborhood Voter Network
- Oley Concerned Citizens
- Owen J. Roberts Taxpayers Association
- Oxford Area Taxpayer Alliance
- PA Patriots
- PA Tax Talk
- Pennsylvania Freedom Allies
- Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition
- Property Tax Elimination Association
- Roof Garden Patriots
- Rose Tree Media Taxpayers United
- Schuylkill County Conservatives
- Scranton & Lackawanna Co. Taxpayers & Citizens Association, Inc.
- South Eastern Tax Reform Coalition
- S. Berks Community Taxpayers Association
- Stop Taxation On My Property
- Stop Citizens Group
- Stop Teacher Strikes
- Taxpayers Association Of Brandywine Heights Area School District
- The Patriot’s Voice
- Taxpayers United Reform Needed
- Taxpayer Survival Group
- Tax Reform & Ethics Committee
- Tri-County Campaign for Liberty
- Union Co. Taxpayer Association
- Upper Bucks Taxpayers Action Group
- Valley Forge Patriots
- Washington Co. for Property Tax Reform
- Western Lancaster County 9.12
- Western Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayers
- Westmoreland County Taxpayer Alliance
- We The People Cumberland
- We The People Greene County
- Wilkes-Barre City Taxpayers Association
- Wyoming County Concerned Taxpayers
- York 912 Patriots
- York County Taxpayers Council