Interview with PA State Rep Frank Ryan

<p>On Aug. 30, 2021, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee conceded to my request to hold a public hearing on the property tax elimination efforts that have been going on for decades for others and for over four years for me personally.<br /> <br /> The hearing was held at the Lebanon Expo Center. It was my understanding that this was the first policy hearing in Lebanon County for quite some time. The topic was so enthusiastically received that it was attended by the largest delegation of House members of any policy committee in recent memory.<br /> <br /> In all the work that we had done over the years, I had decided in my second term to take a different approach to the property tax problem and meet with the opponents of property tax elimination rather than just supporters to see if a solution could be crafted.<br /> <br /> With those meetings we crafted House Bill 13 as a draft only in August 2019 to get rid of school property taxes entirely. The bill included a myriad of tax changes, but the most controversial part of the bill called for a tax on non-Social Security retirement income. Seniors would, however, have saved over $2 billion annually in school property taxes under my bill. For example, most seniors at Londonderry Village, Traditions of Hershey, and our other county retirement communities would have benefitted significantly.<br /> <br /> Because of the difficulty encountered in the Legislature and executive branches by a prior property tax work group attempting achieve consensus on the issue and with the controversy over my bill, I decided to table House Bill 13 in late 2019.<br /> <br /> Then in 2021, the House Republican Policy chairman asked me if I would like to take one final try at elimination. I jumped at the opportunity, but I cautioned everyone that time was no longer on our side.<br /> <br /> In putting the agenda together, I thought it useful to call on supporters, naysayers and analysts for input. I was willing to risk that no decision would be possible as a