Mar. 26, 2025
By Rep. David Maloney (R-Berks)
Quietly inserted into the state’s Fiscal Code by the Pennsylvania Senate is a new provision that allows the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) to divert the stream of money that funds the Property Tax Relief Fund, which is intended for ordinary homeowners struggling to keep a roof over their heads.
This means a government agency – the PGC – is taking gaming money that is meant for property tax relief to pay state property taxes on its vast real estate holdings of more than 1.5 million acres.
Why would the Senate and Gov. Josh Shapiro do this?
It appears to be part of a backroom deal that fell apart. The 2023-24 Fiscal Code was the vehicle that originally would have
taken $150 million out of the PGC’s coffers. Everyone was a bit curious as to why the PGC did not put up a fight, and it took me and sportsmen across the Commonwealth to generate the political pressure necessary to stop it.
Also placed into the Fiscal Code is a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) provision that is quite beneficial to the PGC. The PILT is a way for a government entity to get money from land and properties that are not subject to property taxes. In this case, state game lands.
Prior to the 2023-24 Fiscal Code, PGC was paying $1.20 per-acre/taxing authority or $3.60 per acre total from its own funds. No slots revenue was directed to the PGC for PILT prior to the 2023-24 Fiscal Code.
The 2023-24 Fiscal Code achieved a significant reduction to the PGC’s cost to own land (reduced obligations from PGC’s own funds by 67%) while doubling the PILT that local taxing authorities received.
Perhaps the PGC did not fight the $150 million transfer because it was simply part of a deal? For example, in exchange for giving up the $150 million immediately, the PGC would (at least in theory) perpetually have a drastically lower cost for retaining and growing its real estate portfolio.
At the pre-2023-24 rate, PGC paid $5.4 million per year in PILT from its own funds for its 1.5 million acres. At the 2023-24 rate, PGC paid $1.8 million per year in PILT from its owns funds for the same real estate. That is a savings of $3.6 million/year.
It would have taken almost 42 years for the PGC to recoup the value of its initial loss of $150 million at this rate, but that timeline would have been significantly reduced if the PGC’s intention was to continue its aggressive land acquisition strategy.
It is also notable that the slots revenue not only replaced much of the PGC fund obligations for PILT but also exceeded the previous funding – doubling the total PILT/acre. This would keep local taxing authorities quiet and happy (relatively) while the PGC hit the real estate market ready to buy, buy, buy.
The 2024-25 Fiscal Code modification also suggests a relationship between the PILT coming out of PGC’s own funds and the failed $150 million transfer. Within a little over half a year after the $150 million transfer was officially nixed, the 2024-25 Fiscal Code bumped up the PILT obligations from PGC’s own funds up to $1/acre/taxing authority or $3/acre total, which is not quite the pre-2023-24 obligation ($3.60/acre total) but is much closer to it.
This new PILT provision contains an automatic increase as the rates would be adjusted for inflation every five years starting in fiscal year 2030-31.
So, while the Senate complains the PGC has too much land, they schemed up a deal to make land cheaper for the PGC at the expense of sportsmen and homeowners.
Yes, folks, in Harrisburg, the devil is always in the details.
Representative David Maloney
130th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Charles Lardner
717.260.6443
clardner@pahousegop.com
RepMaloney.com