HARRISBURG – Prior to Sept. 1, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will mail its annual in-lieu-of-tax payments for State Game Lands it owns in 65 of the state’s 67 counties. The Game Commission’s checks, totaling $1,719,056.59 for the 2006 tax year, will be sent to county treasurers, school districts and municipalities, according to Carl G. Roe, agency executive director.
“Since 1929, the Game Commission has made in-lieu-of-tax payments to local governments to offset the loss of potential property tax revenues,” Roe said. “However, State Game Lands do not draw on municipal services. In fact, State Game Lands often attract people to communities to pursue hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. They are an economic asset and an environmental benefit to many communities. Most Pennsylvanians who are aware of State Game Lands, and the greater good they provide, are grateful to have them.”
Since 1920, the Game Commission has been acquiring State Game Lands by using revenues generated from hunting and furtaking license sales; timber, coal, oil, gas and mineral sales from State Game Lands; and the state’s share of a federal excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition. These State Game Lands are managed by the Game Commission to serve as wildlife habitats and public hunting and trapping grounds. The Game Commission has State Game Land holdings in every county except for Philadelphia and Delaware.
In 1929, the General Assembly set the Game Commission’s in-lieu-of-tax payments at five cents per acre. In 1963, the rate was increased to 20 cents per acre; in 1980, 39 cents per acre; in 1984, 60 cents per acre; and in 1995, the rate was set at the present $1.20 per acre. This $1.20 per acre is evenly divided between the county, school district and municipal governments, based on the acres of State Game Lands that are within each political subdivision. The Game Commission currently pays on a total of 1,436,850.59 acres statewide.
On July 7, Governor Edward G. Rendell signed into law Senate Bill 868, which increased the payment in lieu of taxes paid on State Game Lands by an additional $2.40 per acre. However, the new law (Act 102 of 2006) states that this increased payment will be made by the State Treasurer when funds are available in the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s State Gaming Fund, not the Game Commission’s Game Fund.
Following is a list of counties with the acreage of State Game Lands in each, as well as the tax payments that are divided equally between the county, school districts and municipalities based on the acres of State Game Lands in each political subdivision:
Adams, 1,942.3 acres, $2,330.76;
Allegheny, 1,245.94 acres, $1,495.14;
Armstrong, 7,012.37 acres, $8,414.85;
Beaver, 4,355.27 acres, $5,226.33;
Bedford, 54,190.31 acres, $65,028.36;
Berks, 18,647.54 acres, $22,377.05;
Blair, 53,462.03 acres, $64,154.43;
Bradford, 53,429.53 acres, $64,115.45;
Bucks, 4,442.5 acres, $5,331;
Butler, 10,296.92 acres $12,356.31;
Cambria, 44,030.44 acres, $52,836.55;
Cameron, 12,963.1 acres, $15,555.72;
Carbon, 27,301.12 acres, $32,761.35;
Centre, 67,794.81 acres, $81,353.77;
Chester, 2,125.7 acres, $2,550.84;
Clarion, 19,147.02 acres, $22,976.42;
Clearfield, 31,770.61 acres, $38,124.72;
Clinton, 25,972.44 acres, $31,166.94;
Columbia, 21,532.38 acres, $25,838.85;
Crawford, 26,028.89 acres, $31,234.66;
Cumberland, 4,546.1 acres, $5,455.32;
Dauphin, 46,292.31 acres, $55,550.78;
Elk, 74,397.02 acres, $89,276.43;
Erie, 16,455.46 acres, $19,746.55;
Fayette, 21,966.42 acres, $26,359.71;
Forest, 7,146.7 acres, $8,576.04;
Franklin, 15,178 acres, $18,213.60;
Fulton, 18,607.7 acres, $22,329.24;
Greene, 13,277.02 acres, $15,932.43;
Huntingdon, 38,400.88 acres, $46,081.05;
Indiana, 19,967.10 acres, $23,960.50;
Jefferson, 35,446.15 acres, $42,535.38;
Juniata, 9,343.3 acres, $11,211.96;
Lackawanna, 11,661.88 acres, $13,994.25;
Lancaster, 9,613.74 acres, $11,536.50;
Lawrence, 2,989.39 acres, $3,587.28;
Lebanon, 25,847.56 acres, $25,852.84;
Lehigh, 6,446.32 acres, $7,735.59;
Luzerne, 50,095.27 acres, $60,114.33;
Lycoming, 45,903.37 acres, $55,084.03;
McKean, 25,052.97 acres, $30,063.57;
Mercer, 7,148.18 acres, $8,577.83;
Mifflin, 3,265.29 acres, $3,918.36;
Monroe, 38,962.56, $46,755.07;
Montgomery, 486.2 acres, $583.44;
Montour, 227.5 acres, $273;
Northampton, 5,089.02 acres, $6,106.82;
Northumberland, 12,057.03 acres, $14,468.45;
Perry, 17,671.08 acres, $21,205.30;
Pike, 24,467.34 acres, $29,360.81;
Potter, 18,696.32 acres, $22,435.59;
Schuylkill, 34,278.42 acres, $41,134.09;
Snyder, 2,885.02 acres, $3,462.03;
Somerset, 31,565.37 acres, $37,878.45;
Sullivan, 60,338.37 acres, $72,406.05;
Susquehanna, 14,450.17 acres, $17,340.21;
Tioga, 25,422.12 acres, $30,506.55;
Union, 2,546.32 acres, $3,055.59;
Venango, 23,060.93 acres, $27,673.12;
Warren, 37,423.21 acres, $44,907.84;
Washington, 13,329.93 acres, $15,995.92;
Wayne, 20,727.75 acres, $24,873.30;
Westmoreland, 15,665.09 acres, $18,798.09;
Wyoming, 36,488.83 acres, $43,786.59;
York, 4,272.67 acres, $5,127.21.