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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 18, 2024 10:44 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Tim Brennan and Rep. P. Michael Sturla |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Study on Law Enforcement Local Coverage |
Most Pennsylvanians pay local taxes to support local police services while also paying state taxes to support the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP). However, many municipalities depend on the PA State Police as the only source for police services, burdening state resources without contributing any additional amounts for the services they receive. This practice has strained the PA State Police, diverted billions from Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure, and perpetuated the financial problems that led Pennsylvania to rely the Motor License Fund to support the PA State Police. As the Legislature seeks solutions to require all Pennsylvanians to support the PA State Police more proportionally to the services they demand and to disincentivize municipalities from defunding their local police departments, we would benefit from updated information on the issues presented by local law enforcement obligations being placed on the PA State Police. To this end, we will be introducing a resolution directing the Joint State Government Commission to study the impact that local municipal police coverage by the PA State Police has on Pennsylvania taxpayers and on the PA State Police. My resolution will also direct the JSGC to study the benefits we should expect if a fee was imposed on municipalities that opt not to maintain a local police force and rely instead on the PA State Police for police services. Please join us in seeking more information on how we can better provide police officers the support they need by co-sponsoring this resolution. |
Introduced as HR438