AP
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania Senate committee voted Wednesday to subpoena a cabinet official in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration on an issue of taxpayer transparency, creating a potential headache for the rising Democratic Party star.
The state Senate’s Intergovernmental Operations Committee subpoenaed Shapiro’s revenue secretary, former Republican state Sen. Pat Browne, regarding Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone initiative.
The NIZ is a district with special tax benefits created to revitalize the city’s post-industrial decay with new development.
State Sen. Jarrett Coleman — a first-term Republican and former airline pilot representing Bucks and Lehigh counties — chairs the Intergovernmental Operations Committee.
He contends that more than $500 million in taxpayer money the NIZ’s received since its creation in 2011 has had little public oversight.
“The sources of the Allentown NIZ’s revenues, the way it uses the money and the effectiveness of the program seem to be shrouded in mystery,” said Coleman, who defeated Browne in a close 2022 GOP primary to secure his nomination for state Senate.
“It’s hard to determine the value of a program when its financial records remain largely hidden and secretive.”
The committee’s subpoena calls on Browne and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue to provide the Senate with a comprehensive breakdown of state taxes collected through Allentown’s NIZ by Aug. 16.
Coleman’s attempts to obtain this information began in March 2023, when the state senator made two separate requests to the Department of Revenue.
Browne denied both requests, Coleman’s office told The Post.
Coleman’s office says Browne’s Department of Revenue also refused to provide all tax data for a performance audit of the NIZ as requested by the state Senate’s Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.
That committee made at least four requests to obtain the data this spring in accordance with a Coleman-sponsored Senate resolution that ordered the audit.
Shapiro is a popular first-term governor who served as Pennsylvania’s attorney general from 2017 to 2023.
He has been floated in some circles as a contender for president or vice president if President Biden is replaced on the 2024 ticket.
As governor, Shapiro received bipartisan praise for his leadership during the collapse and repair of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia.
He has expressed willingness to work across the aisle on budget issues such as public-school funding, much to the frustration of lawmakers in his own party.
Shapiro has downplayed any national political aspirations, stressing repeatedly that he remains focused on leading Pennsylvania.