Bill Text: PA HB34 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing for grants to municipalities that provide services to certain universities and for powers and duties of the Department of Community and Economic Development; and making an appropriation.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-10-13 - Referred to FINANCE [HB34 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-HB34-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 2541
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 34 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY GIBBONS, CREIGHTON, HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON, KULA, MILLARD AND MURT, OCTOBER 13, 2011
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, OCTOBER 13, 2011
AN ACT
Providing for grants to municipalities that provide services to
certain universities and for powers and duties of the
Department of Community and Economic Development; and making
an appropriation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Municipal
Service Grant Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Community and Economic
Development.
"Host municipality." A municipality where the majority of
tax-exempt properties owned by a university are located.
"Impacted municipality." A municipality that provides the
majority of primary municipal services, such as police, fire
protection and code enforcement to the off-campus student
population of a university.
"Real estate tax millage rate." The millage rate designated
by a municipality for use on a university's tax-exempt property.
"University." A university within the State System of Higher
Education.
"University's tax-exempt property." The term includes any
tax-exempt property used by a university that is owned by the
State System of Higher Education, the Commonwealth, a university
or a foundation formed by the university.
Section 3. Municipal Service Grants.
Beginning with the 2011-2012 fiscal year and for each fiscal
year thereafter, the department shall make payments in the form
of grants for the purpose of reimbursing those municipalities
that provide primary municipal services to universities.
Section 4. Reimbursable expenses.
Grants shall be awarded in accordance with section 5 and
shall be used to reimburse municipalities for all of the
following:
(1) The cost of providing primary municipal services to
a university.
(2) The loss of tax revenue incurred by the presence of
tax-exempt properties owned by a university.
Section 5. Distribution formula.
Grants awarded under this act shall be distributed to each
municipality according to the following formula, and the data
utilized in the formula for each municipality shall be reviewed
every three years by the department:
(1) Divide the university's full-time equivalent student
enrollment for the previous academic year by the total full-
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time equivalent student enrollment for the previous academic
year of the State System of Higher Education, expressed as a
percentage.
(2) Multiply the municipality's real estate tax millage
rate by the assessed value of the university's tax-exempt
property to determine the tax revenue actually lost. Then
divide the result expressing the tax revenue lost by the sum
of the total tax revenue lost by all the municipalities
providing primary municipal services to universities,
expressed as a percentage.
(3) To equally weight the two ratios, combine the
percentage under paragraph (1) with the percentage under
paragraph (2) and divide by two, expressed as a percentage.
(4) Multiply the result of paragraph (3) by the total
amount of funding appropriated for the purposes of this act.
Section 6. Main campus in multiple municipalities.
If a university's main campus is located in or immediately
adjacent to more than one municipality, the grant for primary
municipal services shall be allocated and distributed to each
affected municipality proportionately as follows:
(1) Proportionality shall be determined for the impacted
municipality by the percentage determined under section 5(1)
and for the host municipality by the percentage determined
under section 5(2).
(2) Each factor separately shall then be divided by two.
(3) Separately, each result shall be multiplied by the
total amount of funding appropriated for the purposes of this
act.
The department shall designate only one municipality as the host
municipality and only one municipality as the impacted
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municipality for each regional State System of Higher Education
university.
Section 7. Appropriation.
The amount of $3,000,000 is hereby appropriated to the
Department of Community and Economic Development for the fiscal
year 2011-2012 to carry out the provisions of this act.
Section 8. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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