May 6, 2026 · URBAN AFFAIRS AND HOUSING · 3,058 words · 15 speakers · 97 segments
Good morning. This morning I'm pleased to convene this meeting of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee to advance several bills that are the product of months of conversations and diligent work related to understanding the root causes of the housing market shortage. It's hard to deny that there's a housing supply issue. It's evident in the rising rents, the seniors being pushed out of their homes, and the young Pennsylvanians seeking to purchase a home who cannot find one that's attainable to them. That is why my colleagues and I are advancing a series of bills aimed at removing barriers to housing development while promoting smart, sustainable growth. These proposals are the result of extensive conversations with builders, local officials, and community stakeholders. Each bill addresses a specific obstacle, and together they form a coordinated strategy to build more homes, expand access to attainable housing, and strengthen our economy. With that, the voting meeting, the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee will now come to order. In order to establish a quorum, Ashley, will you please call the roll?
Senator Argel. Here.
Coleman. Proxy.
Ferry. Here.
Fontana. Here.
Kiefer. Here.
Miller. Here.
Saval. Here.
Street. Proxy.
Vogel. Proxy.
Ward. Proxy.
Pacozi. Here.
Required being established, the first bill on the agenda is Senate Bill 1281, sponsored by Senator Rothman, which amends the municipality's planning code to require municipalities to establish pre-approved housing plans for certain types of residential housing. Is there a motion to consider the bill? So moved by Senator Kiefer. Is there a second? Senator Ferry? Senator Rothman has joined us here today. Would you like to speak on your bill?
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, colleagues. The American dream is at risk. I spent most of my adult life selling houses. And when I began selling real estate, the average age of a first-time homebuyer was in their 20s. To say, sadly, it is 40 years old is the median age of a first-time homebuyer. First-time homebuyers used to make up 50% of the market. Now they make up 21% of the market. There is a reason for this crisis. and I appreciate the committee looking into these things and addressing it, but supply is the number one issue. That is the number one reason prices have gone up. In the last five years in Pennsylvania, the median price of a house has doubled. And the reason that supply, I believe, as someone who has spent 35 years in real estate and has a father who has spent 65 years in real estate, I will tell you that this issue of supply is that it has gotten more and more difficult to bring new housing online or to renovate existing housing stock. And this bill addresses the regulatory part of that. We can come up with a statewide standard and say if you meet this criteria, the check of the check boxes, you get your approvals. and it is now three, four, five years from the time someone finds a project and says, I want to build housing on this until they actually build it. So thank you for your consideration of this bill. This is about making it easier for municipalities, make it easier for government, but also make it easier for the consumer and start addressing the supply issues, which will bring down the cost. Thank you.
Thank you, Senator. Are there any questions or comments on this bill?
Senator Kiefer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So I'd like to agree. Thank you, Senator Rothman, for introducing this bill. It's a good bill, and I'm one who's usually a good steward of local control, but I just want to clarify that this is not trying to put housing where it isn't already zoned housing, where there aren't utilities already there. This is just expediting a process of saying, hey, have you already met this criteria? these plans have passed before. The municipality doesn't have to go through all those hoops one more time to go on repeat. So this is a good bill, and this will help expedite some of our development projects.
You're absolutely correct. That's right, and thank you.
Senator Sabal.
Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Senator Rothman, for bringing this bill forward. I likewise want to echo my colleagues in supporting this effort and hope that it will be the first of many such bills that we bring forward to expedite housing permits, housing supply, and increase our overall housing supplies to bring the price of housing down. So I am looking forward to voting for this.
Senator Miller. Thank you I mentioned to the chairman driving through Philadelphia yesterday as part of that really special day, I noticed these beautiful row homes. and I thought why why is that only in the founding city of our country why are we treating suburban areas differently where we have these minimum lot sizes and we go through all of these you know everyone has to have a yard well the market will decide if someone needs to have a yard but you know we have 3,000 plus municipalities in 67 counties and all those I believe have contributed to the rising costs of housing. And so I certainly appreciate your question, and hopefully we can work on making it better for everyone. But this is actually a tool for the municipality so that they don't have to go through the process of having their engineers review everything and go through all their planning process, which just delays it. But thank you. And thank you for letting me speak on the bill.
Are there any further questions? Senator Argel.
Just to note, at the request of Senator Stefano, our policy committee went out to his district on some housing issues a few weeks ago. And I think many of these bills will be very helpful because what we heard there was that just the bureaucracy takes too damn long. And in Pat's case, you know, they have a choice. They can go to West Virginia or they can go to your district. And from what we saw, many of them were choosing to build across the state just because of the time factor. And so to each of the bills and to you, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for bringing this concept forward. I think it's very timely.
Thank you, Senator. Any further?
Senator Miller. Thank you, Senator.
Are there any further questions or comments? Seeing none, Ashley will please call the roll.
Senator Argel. Aye.
Senator Coleman. Proxy, aye. Aye.
Ferry. Aye. Aye.
Fontana.
Aye. Aye. Kiefer? Aye. Miller? No. No. Saval? Aye. Street? Aye. Vogel? Aye. Ward? Aye. Picozzi? Aye. The ayes have it in Senate Bill 1281 is reported out of committee. The next bill on today's agenda is Senate Bill 803, sponsored by Senator Brown, which establishes the first-time homebuyer savings account program under the state treasury. Is there a motion to consider the bill? Moved by Senator Farrie. Is there a second? Senator Fontana. Senator Brown is not able to be here with us today, but Ashley, would you like to describe the legislation?
Senate Bill 803 establishes the first-time homebuyer savings account, which is similar to like a 529 under the state treasury, in which individuals can save towards the purchase and down payment costs for a home if they are a first-time buyer in this or any other state, and then deduct that from their income taxes.
Are there any questions or comments on the bill? Senator Suvall?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just briefly, I have historically voted against previous iterations of this bill. I still have reservations about it. I think that it could be targeted towards people who struggle to buy homes. It has no income restrictions whatsoever. Nonetheless, I understand that given the constraints that given the downward pressures on home buying across the Commonwealth and indeed across the country, that there is value to it. And so with those reservations, notwithstanding, I will be voting in the affirmative today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Any further questions or comments? Senator Kiefer.
Yeah, I share concerns with this as well. I feel that there are different avenues that they could create savings accounts. They could do this already. It could be predatory. But overall, it's the government getting involved in an area where we really don't belong. And so I do have reservations with that. I will vote yes in the affirmative to meet this out of committee to have further conversations. But I do have concerns with it. Thank you.
Thank you, Sander. Any further questions or comments? Seeing none, Ashley, would you please call the roll? Argel?
Aye.
Aye.
Coleman I
Ferry I
Fontana I Kiefer I Miller I Saval I Street Aye Aye Kiefer Aye Aye Miller Aye Aye Saval Aye Aye Street No proxy, aye. Aye. Vogel? Proxy, aye. Aye. Ward? Proxy, aye. Aye. Pacozi?
Aye.
The ayes have it, and the bill is advanced out of this committee. The next bill on our agenda is Senate Bill 1277, sponsored by Senator Stefano, which amends the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act to allow for residential housing. Is there a motion to consider the bill? Senator Argel, is there a second? Senator Saval? Senator Stefano has joined us today. Would you like to speak on your bill?
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today I ask for your support for this legislation that would expand a proven tool to help address Pennsylvania's housing crisis. Senate Bill 1277 will, by extending the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Program, or as I'll refer to because that's a mouthful, Lurda, from a 10-year cap to a 20-year cap on property tax abatements for redevelopment projects. Across our Commonwealth, too many communities are burdened by vacant and underused properties that otherwise could be transformed into housing and economic opportunities. Under the current law, local governments can offer tax abatements for up to 10 years. But by that timeline, that has become a limitation. Many redevelopment projects, especially those involving blighted properties, take longer to become financially viable, preventing further development. By extending the abatement period to 20 years, we could give counties, municipalities, and school districts the flexibility to structure incentives that match the scale and the cost of the redevelopment. This is a voluntary tool that allows local leaders to make decisions that best fit their communities. This change will help attract the private investment, encourage development, and increase housing supply in existing neighborhoods, thus helping to lower costs for revitalized communities across the Commonwealth. With that, I respectfully ask for affirmative vote. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Senator, and thank you for all your hard work on this legislation. Are there any further questions or comments? Senator Fontana?
Thank you. This is a major hope for economic growth.
Thank you, Senator. Senator Kiefer?
So I do have concerns with this. It gets back to the property tax issue in general from 10 to 20 years. Someone's going to pick up that difference. So you have another, an additional 10 years for a property I get that's not online currently, so it's not generating nominal property taxes. But for another 10 years, it just goes back to the whole property tax issue in general that we have. And we have, I don't know, at least 10, 15 economic development zones, different types of zones and tax credits that are there instead of addressing the issue. So, unfortunately, today I can't get there on this bill just because of that whole abatement on the property taxes and where is that revenue coming from, and it's a growing problem. But I appreciate the effort. Thank you.
Thank you, Senator. Are there any further questions or comments? Seeing none, Ashley, please call the roll. Argel?
Aye.
Aye. Coleman?
Proxy, no.
No. Ferry?
Aye.
Aye. Fontana?
Aye.
Aye. Kiefer?
No.
No. Miller?
Aye.
Aye. Saval?
Aye.
Aye. Street?
Aye.
Aye. Vogel?
Proxy, aye.
Aye. Ward?
Proxy, aye.
Aye. Pacozi?
Aye.
The ayes have it, and the bill is advanced out of committee.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And as I reiterate, a lot of our blighted properties are generating zero tax dollars currently. This is an opportunity to increase our values in our downtowns, which we all want to see grow. So I appreciate the opportunity to move this forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Senator. And absolutely. We passed enabling legislation in last year's budget for the city of Philadelphia, very similar to this. And the fiscal score from the city of Philadelphia was generally net positive, that this is going to be a positive revenue generator for the city. And we're excited to see opportunities like this potentially extend to other parts of the Commonwealth. Thank you. The next bill on the agenda is Senate Bill 1278, sponsored by myself, which establishes the Residential Economic Development District Grant Program. Is there a motion to consider the bill? Moved by Senator Miller. Is there a second? Senator Ferry. Senate Bill 1278 intends to address two specific concerns we have heard over and over again from business leaders and local governments. First, local governments have repeatedly stated that one of the reasons it is difficult for them to accommodate new housing creation is because of infrastructure barriers. This could be road concerns or water or sewer concerns or even stormwater maintenance concerns Second business leaders tell us consistently that they struggle to fill jobs when interested candidates cannot find available housing near the job This bill establishes a grant program for local governments who are within a 20-mile radius of a job creation project and who are open to pro-housing policies within their community. This can mean that they are making efforts to speed up permitting processes, readying sites for building, or adjusting zoning to accommodate more housing creatively and variety, or other policies that help to increase our housing stock. These grants would be usable to address those infrastructure needs and concerns and costs, making this partnership between local governments and residential builders a valuable one for everyone. I ask for your support on this critical housing supply initiative. Thank you. Are there any questions or comments on the bill? Seeing none, Ashley, please call the roll. Argel. Aye. Aye. Coleman. Proxy, no. No. Ferry. Aye. Aye. Fontana. Aye. Aye. Kiefer. No. Miller. Aye. Aye. Saval. Aye. Aye. Street. Proxy, aye. Aye. Vogel. Proxy, aye. Aye. Ward. Proxy, aye. Picozzi. Aye. the ayes have it and Senate Bill 1278 is advanced out of this committee the next bill on the agenda is Senate Bill 1279 sponsored by Senator Kristen Phillips Hill which creates the Reduce the Red Tape for Housing Act is there a motion to consider the bill? moved by Senator Kiefer is there a second? moved by Senator Argel Ashley would you like to describe the context of this legislation is Senator Phillips Hill completed?
Senate Bill 1279 establishes the Reduce the Red Tape for Housing Act by establishing the role of housing compliance officer in the Office of Transformation and Opportunity. This individual will be tasked with being a link between housing providers and state and local government entities to promote efficiency and clarity in application and permit processing. The bill also sets some response timelines on certain aspects of applications and permits.
Any questions or comments on this legislation? Senator Small.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So the subject of this bill, or in some ways some of the problem that I believe purports to treat, is one that is entirely meritorious, which is the question of third-party review and licensed third-party review, which is a major issue in housing permitting that has been treated across states. There have been sort of landmark pieces of legislation passed in Florida and Texas and Tennessee. I'm very excited that we're considering it in some form today. At the same time, I have reservations about the form that it takes in this bill, and those reservations are shared by the Shapiro administration with regards to the specific policies adopted or proposed for how the administration should create a process around third-party review, which we did do with DEP in recent budget. I think it's, again, something that I'm open to considering. I would be glad to see if we can work with the maker of the bill and this committee to see if we can find a form that is acceptable. But until we get to that point, I will be a negative. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Are there further questions or comments? Senator Kiefer.
So I think this is a bill that really gets to a legitimate issue of housing costs. Is this what I think we're around 30% of a new house build or a renovation rate is all permitting and regulatory compliance. And if I'm paying an engineer thousands of dollars to design a project and then I'm taking it to a municipality and then I've got to pay them to review it as well. I've got a licensed and bonded engineer. Seems duplicative. Certainly they need to review for compliance, but it goes beyond that, and we have it reengineering. I've got a municipal authority waiting six years for a well, six years to get a well online. You want to talk about not getting housing online? That is hindering housing projects because they can't get will serves. So this is a much-needed bill to help streamline some things. It's too different from one region to the next, and we need more consistency, and this helps to address that issue. So I would encourage a yes vote on this one. Thank you.
Thank you, Senator. Any further questions or comments? Seeing none, Ashley, will you please call the roll? Senator Argel?
Aye.
Senator Coleman?
Proxy, aye.
Aye. Ferry?
Aye.
Aye. Fontana?
No.
No. Kiefer?
Yes.
Aye. Miller?
Aye.
Aye. Saval?
No.
No. Street?
No.
No. Vogel? Proxy, aye. Aye. Ward? Proxy, aye. Aye. Pacozi?
Aye.
The ayes have it, and the bill is advanced out of this committee. With that, that concludes the agenda of today's meeting of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee. Thank you all for being here, and we will reconvene at the call of the chair.