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Fold ’em: Pennsylvania should start new on Act 72

3 min read

In the aftermath of the debacle known as Act 72, which school boards across Pennsylvania soundly rejected by a 5-to-1 margin, the state should slow down its full-speed-ahead approach to embracing legalized gambling. When only one-fifth of the state’s school districts opted to participate by the May 31 deadline, the ballyhooed legislation that trades gambling revenue for school property tax relief became a dismal failure. Property owners in the vast majority of school districts face the same problem they had before Act 72: Escalating real estate taxes that strain household budgets, threatening to make homeownership a memory for some and racheting up the fiscal juggling act on many others.

Don’t think that’s true? Look at the Uniontown Area School District, which rejected Act 72 participation – and within weeks unveiled a proposed budget calling for an 11 percent real estate tax hike. Other districts that opted out of Act 72 will invariably follow suit, if not this year, then next, or the one after that. But the double-digit increases will come, along with the inevitable justification that no other option existed.

Gov. Ed Rendell has expressed disappointment that this signature initiative of his won’t bring the widespread tax relief he anticipated. Rendell also said it wouldn’t be fair to let the law move forward, given the low level of participation. State Rep. Mike Veon (D-Beaver), his party’s minority whip, simply favors making Act 72 mandatory for all school districts.

Instead of tackling this needed repair right away, Rendell and the legislature immersed themselves in crafting a new state budget by the June 30 deadline. That may indeed be of greater importance – but it leaves the average taxpayer in most school districts in limbo, not getting tax relief and not knowing if and when any will come.

Against this backdrop, the state’s six-member gambling control board motors on, preparing to craft an ethics policy to use as a guide as they review the applications for licenses that will put 16,000 slot machines at race tracks, casinos and a resort. Given the resounding failure of Act 72 to meet the purpose for which it was intended, forging ahead in this manner serves to support the contention of critics that Act 72 was strictly a bill to legalize gambling, not offer true school property tax relief.

Pennsylvania should first fix Act 72, even if that means ditching it completely and starting from scratch, so that taxpayers in all school districts can share in any plan.

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