Local Government Commission

of the  

Pennsylvania General Assembly

The Consolidated County Assessment Law

The Assessors' Association of Pennsylvania (AAP) - an affiliate of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) - formed an Assessment Reform Committee in 2001. The AAP charged the committee with creating a legislative proposal that would consolidate the current assessment laws, pertaining to counties of the second class A through the eighth class, into one new uniform assessment law. The 12-member committee was made up of a wide array of real estate assessment personnel (assessors and administrators) from various counties throughout the Commonwealth.

Two Commission staff persons, appointed as the legislative staff to serve on the committee, played a major role. Due to the technical nature of the work involved with consolidating the various assessment laws, a small subcommittee, including Commission staff, took on the tasks of preparing the initial draft of the consolidated assessment law and a section-by-section commentary of the legislation. Staff also prepared the disposition and derivation tables.

CCAP requested the members of the Local Government Commission to sponsor the final legislative proposal. The Commission first introduced the Consolidated County Assessment Law as House Bill 2273 during the 2005-2006 Legislative Session. The bill was reintroduced as Senate Bill 918 during the 2009-2010 Legislative Session and was signed into law on October 27, 2010, as Act 93 of 2010. The Consolidated County Assessment Law is codified in Title 53 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (Municipalities Generally) at Section 8801 et seq.

More Information


House Resolution 343 of 2011

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 343  on June 27, 2011. This resolution establishes a task force for the following purposes:

  1. To develop a set of uniform standards for county reassessment contracting.
  2. To develop standards for disclosing the county's system of property valuation and assessment.
  3. To develop a self-evaluation tool for counties to determine when a reassessment is warranted.
  4. To recommend a standard to be used for a Statewide mandatory reassessment time frame.
  5. To present any other recommendations to improve the system of property tax reassessment in this Commonwealth.

The membership of the task force will comprise the following:

  1. Two representatives from the Pennsylvania Local Government Commission appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from a list comprised of members of the House of Representatives appointed to the Commission, one each representing the majority and minority representation on the Commission.
  2. Two members of the House of Representatives or their designees, one appointed by the Majority Leader and one appointed by the Minority Leader.
  3. Two appointees from each of the memberships identified below from a list submitted by each membership, one appointed by the Majority Leader and one appointed by the Minority Leader:
    • The Assessors' Association of Pennsylvania.
    • The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
    • The Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

The task force will utilize the staff of the House Local Government Committee and the House Finance Committee in consultation with and assistance from the Local Government Commission and the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.

The task force is charged with issuing its findings to the House of Representatives no later than six months after the adoption of the resolution.


House Resolution 344 of 2011

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives also adopted House Resolution 344  on June 27, 2011. This resolution establishes a task force for the purpose of developing criteria and procedures for data submission by a county to the State Tax Equalization Board (STEB); verification by STEB to address insufficient sample data; and to assure and disclose that the sample data relied on to develop a county's performance measures during a countywide reassessment is representative of the bulk of the county's property inventory.

The membership of the task force will comprise the following:

  1. Two members of the House of Representatives or their designees, one appointed by the Majority Leader and one appointed by the Minority Leader.
  2. Two members of the House of Representatives or their designees consisting of the chair and minority chair of the House Local Government Committee.
  3. Two members of the House of Representatives or their designees consisting of the chair and minority chair of the House Finance Committee.
  4. Two appointees from each of the memberships identified below from a list submitted by each membership, one appointed by the Majority Leader and one appointed by the Minority Leader:
    • The State Tax Equalization Board;
    • The Department of Revenue;
    • The Assessors' Association of Pennsylvania; and
    • The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

The task force will utilize the staff of the House Local Government Committee and the House Finance Committee in consultation with and assistance from the Local Government Commission and the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.

The task force is charged with issuing its findings to the House of Representatives no later than six months after the adoption of the resolution.