Urban Affairs & Housing 2021-2022

The Urban Affairs and Housing and Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committees held a joint Public Hearing on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 on efforts to address veterans homelessness.

The Urban Affairs & Housing Committee met on Wednesday, July 6, 2022 to consider the following bill:

HB 2709 (Marshall) − Amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) to add a definition for rental-purchase property and provide protections in digital disclosures for rental-purchase property.

  • The bill was reported out of committee with nine affirmative and two negative votes.

The Urban Affairs & Housing Committee met on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 to consider the bill:

HB1935 (White) – Amends the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority Act For Cities Of The First Class (PICA) to extend oversight by the intergovernmental cooperation authority.

  • The bill was reported out of committee unanimously.

The Urban Affairs & Housing Committee met on Monday, June 20, 2022 to consider the bills:

SB 1135 (Saval) – Establishes the Whole Home Repairs Act.

  • A04832 (Pittman) makes three changes to the bill 1) renames the act; 2) adds an affordable homeownership program; and 3) adds a program to support the adaptive reuse of excess student housing in PASSHE host communities.  
  • The amendment was adopted with nine affirmative and two negative votes. The amended bill was reported out of committee with seven affirmative and four negative votes.

SB 1281 (Argall) Establishes the Development Cost Relief Program to be administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).

  • A04854 (Pittman) amends the allocation from 100 million to 150 million dollars.
  • The amendment was adopted with nine affirmative and two negative votes. The amended bill was reported out of committee with eight affirmative and three negative votes.

The Urban Affairs & Housing Committee met on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 to consider the bills:

SB 1135 – Saval – Establishes the Whole Home Repairs Act.

  • The bill went over. Chairman Pittman indicated that he intends to consider the bill this upcoming Monday OTF along with an amendment creating two additional programs: an Affordable Homeownership Fund and an Adaptive Reuse Fund for Excess Student Housing.

SB 1282 – Pittman/Saval – Amends the Economic Development Agency, Fiduciary and Lender Environmental Liability Protection Act to extend environmental liability protections to land banks.

  • The bill was reported out of committee by a unanimous vote.

HB 2209 – Major – Amends Title 68 to allow a land bank board meetings to establish quorum with a virtual presence of members.

  • The bill was reported out of committee by a unanimous vote.

HB 2210 – Pennycuick – Amends the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act to allow land banks to be court-appointed conservators of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings who fail to comply with municipal code compliance.

  • The bill was reported out of committee with 10 affirmative (and one negative) votes.

SB 1254 – Vogel/Haywood – Amending the Tax Reform Code of 1971 to increase the funding cap on the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Program (PHARE) transfers from the Realty Transfer Tax (RTT). Amendment A04767 (Pittman) – Aligns the funding increase with HB2665. Adds a section to stipulate that nothing in this act should be construed to increase the Realty Transfer Tax.

  • The amendment was adopted unanimously and the bill was reported out of committee as amended by unanimous vote.

The Urban Affairs & Housing Committee held a Public Hearing on  Thursday, April 14, 2022 on Housing Issues

The Urban Affairs & Housing Committee held a Public Hearing on  Thursday, April 7, 2022 on Housing Issues


The Urban Affairs & Housing Committee met on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 to consider the bills below, all of which were reported out of committee unanimously:

SB 574 (Brewster): This bill would amend the Real Estate Tax Sale Law to allow counties to levy fees upon the purchase of tax delinquent or real estate owned properties and dedicate said fees into a fund used to support the demolition or rehabilitation of blighted properties. Reported out of committee with a unanimous vote.

SB 763 (Argall): This legislation amends the Tax Reform Code to fund the Pennsylvania low-income housing tax credit program, which has already been authorized by Act 107 of 2020 to become effective during the 2021-22 fiscal year. This program requires additional legislative action to authorize the availability of tax credits. This legislation will allow the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) to administer $10M in state affordable housing tax credits annually. Reported out of committee with a unanimous vote.

HB 264 (Heffley): This bill amends the Real Estate Tax Sale Law to include additional registration and reporting requirements to ensure bidders are eligible to purchase property at a tax sale. Reported out of committee with a unanimous vote.

HB 827 (Gillespie): This bill would amend Title 74 (Taxation and Fiscal Affairs) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to establish microenterprise loan programs and allow for the abating of real property assessment. Said differently, this legislation would allow administrative entities to acquire and lease property in addition to providing financing and tax exemptions to small businesses. Reported out of committee with a unanimous vote.

The Senate Urban Affairs & Housing Committee met today, Monday, January 25, 2021, and voted on the following:

  • SB109 (Pittman) – Amending the Fiscal Code, Act 176 of 1929, to repeal provisions relating to the Mortgage and Rental Assistance Grant Program administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).

The bill was reported out of committee with nine affirmative votes and one dissenting vote.