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New Pennsylvania Budget Wrinkle: Senate Vote Planned On School Property Tax Elimination Bill

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- The future of the tentative budget deal announced last week could be thrown into doubt by Senate Republican leaders' plan to vote on a bill that would completely eliminate school property taxes. That vote could come next week.

The broad framework of the budget deal announced last week between the governor and legislative leaders involves raising the sales tax for partial property tax relief. But being teed up for a vote in the Senate is a bill that would eliminate school property taxes by raising both the state sales and income taxes. Drew Crompton, chief counsel for the Senate President Pro-Tempore, admits that if the elimination bill passes, it could muddy the budget waters…

"I think that's fair. But we don't have the option, in our view, to just skip to the blue print plan," Crompton says. "And we haven't voted property tax on the floor of the Senate for a long time, and there's a lot of members who are very supportive of complete elimination."

The prime sponsor said the bill is being tweaked to address minor technical concerns ahead of an anticipated vote next week.

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