Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro Announces Property Tax & Rent Rebate Expansion

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On Thursday, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) highlighted historic property tax and rent rebate expansion.  EDITOR'S NOTE: The date should read "June 27, 2024."  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript   Stay Connected Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Well, as some of you probably know me, I'm Center County Commissioner Mark Higgins.

00:05I'd like to acknowledge Commissioner Concepcion and Philipsburg Mayor Strano, who are also

00:10here.

00:11We'd like to thank Governor Shapiro and his team for joining us in Center County to make

00:16this announcement.

00:17We warmly welcome you, Governor, to the Philipsburg Senior Center, one of six senior centers that

00:23Center County government operates.

00:25This complex houses many people who are eligible for the Pennsylvania Rent Rebate Program,

00:31making it an easy choice of location for the event.

00:34Perhaps more importantly, the complex houses a senior center where seniors from the surrounding

00:39area enjoy the company of others and find resources available for them.

00:44Whether somebody comes here for home, to hang out, or for help, this space is a haven for

00:50seniors in the area, which it shares with the Rent Rebate Program.

00:55For years, the program has offered assistance and relief to seniors in Center County and

00:59throughout all of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and recently, thanks to the governor's efforts,

01:05more people are eligible for the program.

01:07You'll hear from one of them in a minute.

01:09Center County is seen as being demographically dominated by college students, but the reality

01:15is that we have a rapidly expanding number of seniors.

01:20Projections estimate that our 60-plus population will increase by 25%, and our super senior

01:27population at 85-plus will double by 2050.

01:32It's a breath of fresh air to bring additional well-deserved attention to our senior population,

01:37which is one of the goals of the Rent Rebate Program.

01:41Over 9,000 Center County citizens have been approved to receive a rebate.

01:47I want to close by reiterating that those eligible should apply for the program, and

01:51if any assistance is needed in that process, feel free to reach out to the Center County

01:56Office of Aging.

01:58We really appreciate you coming to Phillipsburg, Josh.

02:02Talking with the mayor, I believe you are the first governor to hold a press conference

02:06here in decades.

02:08Thank you.

02:09And that's my friend Josh Shapiro.

02:11Thanks Mayor.

02:12Hey everybody, good morning.

02:16It's a beautiful day in Phillipsburg, and yeah, Mr. Mayor said to me, he's been mayor

02:22for life apparently here for 20 years, and he said over the last 20 years he can't remember

02:28a governor coming to Phillipsburg, and I'm thrilled to be here in Phillipsburg.

02:32I'm more excited to be here at Darlene's house.

02:35She invited me over for this important announcement, and so I'm glad to have the opportunity to

02:41share some really good news for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania right here in Phillipsburg.

02:48You know, I'm grateful to Commissioner Higgins for his leadership here in Center County,

02:55and I also want to give a special welcome to Pennsylvania's Secretary of Aging, Secretary

03:01Kavulich, who joins us here today.

03:03Thank you Mr. Secretary for joining us.

03:05This is a big deal, a big announcement, and we think Phillipsburg is the right place to

03:10make sure we share it.

03:12Let me just share with you some stories from my experience traveling across Pennsylvania.

03:18First as a candidate for governor, and now over the last, I guess, 17 months or so as

03:23Pennsylvania's 48th governor.

03:26Time and time again I'd show up in communities, some rural, some urban, some suburban.

03:30It really wouldn't matter where I was, and a senior would pull me aside and let me know

03:34just how challenging their circumstances were.

03:37With rising costs and them being on fixed incomes, they needed more help to be able

03:43to stay in their home or their apartment.

03:45I want you to know as I travel around as your governor, I hear those stories.

03:50I internalize those stories, and those stories help me be a better, more effective governor

03:56for all of you.

03:57When I listened to those seniors, I made a promise when I was campaigning that we were

04:02going to deliver real relief.

04:05I know in these sort of hyper-polarized, divisive, cynical times in our politics, sometimes

04:11when a candidate for office says they're going to do something, you kind of wonder whether

04:14they're really going to deliver on that promise or not, and I see some heads nodding along

04:19the way here.

04:20I think that's probably a bipartisan cynicism that exists in our society.

04:25I want you to know that Dad took office, I went to work to try and deliver meaningful

04:29relief for our seniors, and the best, most impactful, direct way we can help seniors

04:35with rising costs is to be able to expand what's known as the property tax rent rebate

04:42here in Pennsylvania.

04:44Expand it in two ways.

04:46First, to make sure that the relief was greater, meaning people got more help, and second,

04:51to make sure more seniors got more assistance than ever before, because here's the problem.

04:58About 20 years ago, Pennsylvania started the property tax rent rebate program, and it's

05:03been really effective.

05:05The problem is, it hadn't been updated for 20 years, so every time a senior would get

05:09a slight cost-of-living increase in their Social Security, it would actually knock them

05:14out of getting their property tax relief, or as things began to cost more over time,

05:21it made the dollars you were getting from the property tax relief really not go very

05:25far, and consequently, we have failed to help our seniors over two decades.

05:31A lot of people in Harrisburg said we could never fix this program, we could never make

05:36it work for our seniors.

05:37Well, I don't accept never as an acceptable answer.

05:41We worked incredibly hard to bring Democrats and Republicans together to significantly

05:47expand the property tax rent rebate, and now, as a result of that new bipartisan law, I

05:53wanted to come here to Phillipsburg today to tell you that the check is literally in

06:00the mail, and seniors should get their relief next week by mail, or if they file to get

06:07their property tax relief electronically, it'll be hitting their bank starting on Monday.

06:14That is a big deal for seniors all across Pennsylvania.

06:19Now, as of July 1st, which is Monday, 442,000 Pennsylvanians are slated to receive $266 million

06:33in relief, and that includes, as you heard before from the Commissioner, nearly 10,000

06:39people here in Center County, and that is a significant number of seniors that are going

06:44to get help.

06:45To put that into some context for you, remember I said 442,000 Pennsylvanians are about to

06:52get that relief?

06:53Well, last year at this time, the number was 283,000, so we jumped from 283,000 to 442,000,

07:03and last year at this time, we delivered $132 million in relief.

07:10This year, we're more than doubling that to $266 million in relief, but that's not

07:17even just the best part.

07:19We're not done yet.

07:20You see, there are still 125,000 Pennsylvania seniors who qualify for the relief who haven't

07:28signed up for it yet.

07:30That's your money, and we want you to have it.

07:32So while the program was supposed to close on July 1st, I used my authority as your governor

07:38to extend the deadline to December 31st so those 125,000 seniors are able to get their

07:46relief as well.

07:48It's important to note that, remember I said we will start on Monday to deliver $266 million

07:55to seniors?

07:56That's not capped, meaning every one of those 125,000 seniors that signs up and gets qualified,

08:03there's more money available for them.

08:06This is a big deal.

08:08We want our seniors to get the help that they deserve.

08:11So what I want to ask you to do if you are eligible is to go sign up at pa.gov and fill

08:20out your application.

08:21If you feel like you need some help filling out your application, you can go see Commissioner

08:27Higgins and the commissioners here in Centre County.

08:31You can visit your state rep.

08:32You can visit your state senator, and they can help you fill it out as well.

08:37Actually, the next person who's going to be speaking can help you as well through the

08:41AAAs.

08:42The bottom line is this is your money, and we want you to get it.

08:45I'm mindful that there are rising costs, and we want to help you be able to deal with that,

08:51stay in your home, stay in your apartment, and be able to live out your golden years

08:55with dignity and respect.

08:58Now I want to close by just pointing something out to all of you who are here today, and

09:02I'm grateful for everyone who came out to join us today here in Phillipsburg.

09:08We got this done in just my first six months in office, and we got it done notwithstanding

09:15the fact that I am literally the only governor in the entire country with a divided legislature.

09:22Think about that for a minute.

09:23Our House is led by Democrats, our Senate is led by Republicans, and in these hyper-polarized

09:30times nationally, I know it's hard to find ways to bring Democrats and Republicans together.

09:36Yet I always believed that it was common sense, it was the right thing to do to stand up for

09:41our seniors, and we were able to bring Democrats and Republicans together to get this done.

09:46So in addition to helping seniors in Pennsylvania, helping those who are disabled with this relief,

09:52I hope you also feel a sense of pride in your state government that we can find ways to

09:57work together and get big things done, and that the name of the game in this business

10:03is compromise.

10:04When you compromise, good things can happen for seniors, and good things can happen for

10:09Phillipsburg, good things can happen for everybody in Pennsylvania.

10:14And that is the cause of my work, listening to all of you, finding ways to bring people

10:19together, and then to get stuff done here in Pennsylvania.

10:24So I want to thank you for joining us here today, and it is my pleasure now to bring

10:29up Brian Meter to say a few words.

10:32Brian is a volunteer with the AAA.

10:35Brian is also a retired accountant, so he's the one guy who knows how to do math up here.

10:40And Brian has assisted seniors throughout Centre County in applying for the property

10:45tax rent rebate.

10:47So part of this $266 million that's going out to seniors is thanks in part to Brian

10:54helping them fill out the application.

10:56So ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to bring up Brian Meter to say a few words

11:01at this time.

11:02Thank you all very much.

11:03Brian?

11:04Thank you.

11:05Those were nice words, thank you.

11:10My name is Brian Meter.

11:11I'm a volunteer with the VITA organization, which is Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.

11:19And that is a federal program under the auspices that actually does federal income tax, we

11:27do state income tax, we do local income tax, and we do the property tax and rent rebate

11:32program.

11:35There are about 10,000 VITA organizations in the United States, and all of them have

11:41to be associated with a non-profit, have to be supported and sponsored by a non-profit.

11:46In our case, it's the Office of Aging of Centre County, and under that is the Retired

11:51Senior Volunteers, which I'm a part of.

11:54And within our group, we have about 30 volunteers that do taxes.

11:59We do taxes six days a week in five different locations in Centre County.

12:04Last year, we did over 1,900 tax returns for individuals.

12:10The only criteria is we recommend about $65,000 or less.

12:15So we see lots of seniors, lots of young people, sort of that spectrum in between people.

12:22Probably over half of the people that we do are seniors and doing their taxes.

12:26A lot of them aren't PC literate or comfortable, certainly not comfortable with government

12:33forms and requirements.

12:36As you all know, there's still a lot of paperwork no matter what you do and no matter how you

12:40do it.

12:41However, last year, we did approximately 1,900 returns out of that.

12:49Those include the rent rebate, property tax rebate people.

12:55Last year, we did 400 property tax rebates.

12:59This year, we did 800, and we're still counting because we're one of the few organizations

13:03open all year in Centre County.

13:06We do that in the Centre County Office Building.

13:09So we're very proud of those numbers.

13:14And it's especially rewarding to me and all of our volunteers with the change in the tax

13:21requirements.

13:22The fact that in this whole PTR program that they have, after many years, have lifted the

13:29income requirements from 35 for property owners to 45, counting only half the social.

13:35But more importantly in my mind was the disparity that existed where if you are a renter, you

13:41had to make 15,000, and now you can make 45 the same as property owners.

13:46And let's face it, renters are paying property tax one way or another.

13:49It's through their land order, whatever.

13:52And it was a big gap of people that were left out of the program, and we really feel all

13:57good about that, that that has changed under the governor and this legislature.

14:03So we couldn't be more proud of the program, the group of people that we work with, and

14:11everyone that supports us.

14:12So I want to thank everybody.

14:15With that, I'd like to introduce Darlene Harper, who is a resident here at the Towers.

14:21Darlene.

14:23Thank you.

14:24Good evening, everyone.

14:26Thank you for coming.

14:28Very nice to see you.

14:30Thank you.

14:32Congratulations.

14:33Congratulations, everyone.

14:34Thank you.

14:35Just hold right onto here, okay?

14:36Hello, this is the first time I was qualified to receive the rent rebate because they raised

14:56the earning limit this year, so this will relieve some of the pressure of my financial

15:03burden and improve the quality of my life. I will use the money for groceries and medicine.

15:12It will relieve the stress of any emergencies that may come up. Also, I will use some of

15:21the money on my two grandchildren for Christmas. The rent rebate helps senior citizens supplement

15:31their income. For the residents on the Pillsbury Towers and across the state, this allows

15:38them to pay their expenses without worrying where they will get the money. I want to thank

15:46Governor Shapiro and his administration for raising the income level. It will give us

15:53peace of mind, which is precious to us. Thank you.

16:04Now I'd like to introduce the Secretary.

16:07Thank you, Darlene. Great job.

16:10Good morning, everyone. I'm excited to join you all today and grateful to all of you for

16:30welcoming me into your beautiful community. The biggest perk in my job is to get out to

16:34see older Pennsylvanians all across this beautiful state that we live in. Thanks to Governor

16:39Shapiro, a long overdue focus on the needs of older Pennsylvanians is happening. From

16:44Act 7 of 2023's historic expansion of the property tax and rent rebate program to the

16:49signing of Aging Our Way PA, our first strategic plan for older Pennsylvanians, this administration

16:55is working hard to keep its word. We are working hard to get things done that really do make

16:59a difference. As someone who has spent 20 years in public service, I am honored to be

17:04part of history in the making. For more than two decades, I have been on the ground in

17:08communities much like this one, helping people find solutions to everyday problems. Sadly,

17:13I've also had to support them through hard choices and sacrifices, like moving from their

17:17homes when they no longer can afford the upkeep or having to give up their pets because they're

17:21downsizing and the apartment that they can afford does not take them. They aren't pleasant

17:25examples, but they're real and there's countless others to match. When I think about what we're

17:30celebrating here today, I take pride in the fact I am part of the administration that

17:34delivered the single largest tax cut to older Pennsylvanians in my entire career. When I

17:40think about what this means for older adults and our disabled neighbors, what I think about

17:45is new hearing aids or new dentures when insurance doesn't cover them, new tires for your car

17:52so it passes inspection, a new lift chair that you always wanted, or treating your grandkids

17:57to ice cream without having to worry about making a sacrifice down the road. This is

18:01real life money in my mind. Thanks to Governor Shapiro, Secretary Brown, and many bipartisan

18:06leaders in the General Assembly, we are seeing this and other historic investments in supports

18:11for older Pennsylvanians becoming a reality. As we engaged in communities all across Pennsylvania

18:16in creation of Aging Our Way, we heard overwhelmingly that housing in all its forms was the biggest

18:23concerns that older adults had. Whether it be their taxes or their roofs, this is what

18:28they told us we need to focus on. The PTRR expansion is a big step in getting things

18:34done for our older adults. The single most important thing we need to remember today

18:39is that if you qualify, you need to apply. The team at the Department of Revenue will

18:43help you with your application. You can get help at this senior center. You can get help

18:48from your state representative's office or your senator's office, or Brian or Boyd with

18:53the Center County Department of Aging can help you get this application done. This is

18:57far too important for paperwork to be a problem. We can help you, and we will help you with

19:02that. We also need you to help us reach out to the neighbors who you know that may qualify

19:07for this program. We can't help them apply without you helping us spread the word that

19:11more people now qualify, and it may be one of them. I want to close with a moment of

19:16gratitude for the Pennsylvania Lottery team at the Department of Revenue. Without our

19:20lottery, programs like this one and all the programs that my department administers could

19:25never exist. Secretary Brown did an amazing job this week reminding everyone to keep playing

19:30our Pennsylvania Lottery. It keeps our services strong, and it makes sure that all the work

19:35that we do and all the work that they do at the Pennsylvania Lottery reaches older

19:39Pennsylvanians each and every day so that they can live in our communities among us

19:43with the dignity and the respect that they deserve. And with that, I would like to turn

19:47it back over to our governor, Josh Shapiro. Thanks, Secretary. Thank you. Listen, as the

19:53Secretary said, and as Gus, our second most famous groundhog says, keep on scratching,

20:00okay? We need you to play the lottery if you so choose. And let me also just echo the sentiments

20:07that were shared by the Secretary in thanking those who work with older Pennsylvanians every

20:12single day. It really, really matters the work that they do, and they're having a positive

20:17impact on people's lives from right here in Center County to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

20:24And I want to also especially thank those at the Department of Revenue who are driving

20:30out these resources every day, led by Allison Morgan, who's our executive deputy secretary

20:36at the Department of Revenue and her team there. The Revenue Department is processing

20:41these checks quickly, making sure the dollars reach your way. And these are some of the

20:46wonderful people that work in state government that you don't really see every day, but they're

20:50doing great work for you. And so I just want to give them a special shout out and let them

20:54know how much we appreciate them. And so with that, before I get the chance to meet all

20:59of you, I got to answer some questions from them. So let me do that quick, and then we'll

21:03get the chance to spend a few minutes together. So with that, if there's any questions from

21:07the media, I'm happy to take your questions now.

21:10Governor, can you give us any insight on the budget process? Are you concerned or confident

21:15about a new deal within the next few days?

21:17Listen, as I said before, I'm the only governor in the entire nation with a divided legislature.

21:23House led by Democrats, Senate led by Republicans, and everybody's got very different ideas on

21:29how to move Pennsylvania forward. But I will tell you, we have had very productive and

21:35very honest dialogue and dialogue where every party involved understands that the only way

21:41we get this done is to compromise. And that is what we're working toward now. I am feeling

21:47cautiously optimistic that we're going to get this done soon. And I'm grateful to all

21:52parties involved for remaining at the table, continuing to work hard on this, and understanding

21:58that we all have a collective responsibility to get this done for the good people of Pennsylvania.

22:03There's a lot of good we're going to be able to do together, and I'm confident we're going

22:07to get it done soon.

22:09Thank you.

22:10I also had a question about the budget. So last year you proposed a 7% raise for Penn

22:16State, but that ended up flat. But as several speakers mentioned, inflation continues to

22:22increase, and the university has been making some cuts, including our own station, 20%

22:27cut next year. Are you hopeful from conversations with other lawmakers that Penn State will

22:33I won't speak about any details of our discussions or any details of what may be contained in

22:40a final product. I will say that I'm a big believer in Penn State. I am someone who has

22:46put forth a comprehensive plan on how to invest in higher education. There have been other

22:52ideas that have been put forth by lawmakers of both parties, and we're all going to work

22:56together to make sure that we do well by our universities. But I'm not going to get into

23:01any specifics as to where things stand in those conversations right now.

23:05Yes.

23:06Hi, I'm from the local newspaper, and this is an old coal mining town that is still affected

23:12by polluted abandoned mine lands, and our water is pretty filthy and awful, which reduces

23:19our quality of life. And I know that there are efforts that you've put forward to help

23:24clean up this area. Can you tell us about those and what our community can be doing

23:29to take advantage of those?

23:31We need to invest in cleaning up our abandoned and orphaned wells and mines. I've made it

23:37a big priority. It not only impacts drinking water, it leads to higher greenhouse gas emissions

23:44all across our commonwealth. Under my leadership in my administration, we have capped more

23:51orphaned and abandoned wells and are working on more mine projects than in the entirety

23:56of the last decade in Pennsylvania, in just my first year in office. We have a ways to

24:02go, but we are putting real resources into that. The resources we're putting into it

24:07come from not just state dollars that have been appropriated by lawmakers of both parties,

24:11but also by the Biden administration, who have been wonderful partners in this. We've

24:15been able to draw down significant federal dollars in order to be able to do this work.

24:21And we know here in the central part of our state, there's real needs in that area, and

24:25we're going to continue to invest in that. It's the right thing to do for public health

24:29and safety and our planet.

24:31Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.

24:33Thanks, everybody.

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