Senator: Declare War on Blight

HARRISBURG - Speaking to a packed room at Temple University's Harrisburg Campus, Senator David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill) announced he will reconvene the Pa. Blight Task Force in an effort to continue the fight against blight and abandonment.

"The recent passage of land bank legislation has assisted the ongoing efforts to fight blight," said Argall, who spoke at the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania's Homes Within Reach Conference. "We have achieved considerable progress by giving our local governments more power to fight blight through land bank legislation as well as Act 90, the Neighborhood Blight Reclamation and Revitalization Act."

The Blight Task Force was established by Argall's predecessor, the late Sen. Jim Rhoades. The group was responsible for crafting Argall's Senate Bill 900 of 2009, now Act 90.

During the event at Temple some people suggested a tax on slumlords.

"So, we’re going to be looking at that one," Argall said. "I think that might be one new tax the governor and the members of the house and the Senate could fully support"

Sen. Argall said he plans to discuss successes and areas to improve on current laws in place to aid with revitalization, as well as upcoming legislative priorities, including a potential tax on slumlords, to help state and local governments to win the war on blight.

Sen. Argall plans to update his website, www.SenatorArgall.com/FightBlight , with information on the task force's upcoming meeting as well as blight-related news and information.

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