Treasurer Stacy Garrity last week warned Pennsylvanians that scammers are calling residents who have applied for a Property Tax/Rent Rebate and asking for bank account information in an effort to steal valuable personal information.
Garrity reminded people that the Pennsylvania Treasury Department will never call and ask for bank information.
In this scam, the caller claims to be from Treasury and asks for a bank account number — supposedly so a Property Tax/Rent Rebate payment can be made by direct deposit.
“The sad reality is that scammers never stop, and we all need to be constantly on guard,” Garrity said. “It sickens me that they’re targeting the seniors and people with disabilities who applied for a Property Tax/Rent Rebate, but these criminals have no conscience or compassion.”
She added that people should never give out their bank account information or other personal financial information simply because someone calls and asks for it.
“If someone claims to be from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, do not hesitate to contact us to confirm that it’s really us,” Garrity said.
The best way to contact Treasury is with the form available at — https://www.patreasury.gov/contact/
Direct deposit is available for Property Tax/Rent Rebates, but recipients must include that information on their application before submitting it to the Department of Revenue.
Treasury recommends direct deposit over U.S. mail to expedite the process of receiving payment.
The Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program benefits Pennsylvanians age 65 and older, widows and widowers age 50 and older, and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The maximum standard rebate this year is $650. Some homeowners may qualify for supplemental rebates.
So far this year, Treasury has processed more than 355,000 payments totaling more than $167 million. More than half of those payments were sent electronically.
Shapiro launches money-back guarantee
for permitting, licensing, certification
Gov. Josh Shapiro, the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA), and the Office of Transformation and Opportunity (OTO) this week launched PAyback.pa.gov — a new online money-back guarantee system that allows residents, businesses, charities, and schools to check their eligibility for a refund of their permit, license, or certification application fee and request a refund if they believe they are eligible.
Using PAyback, Pennsylvania workers and businesses can also see the standard processing time for each application, increasing certainty for Pennsylvanians doing business with the Commonwealth, and request a refund if their application is not processed within that time frame.
The Shapiro Administration has already made significant progress by improving or eliminating the long wait times to receive hundreds of permits, licenses, and certifications. In his first month in office, Governor Shapiro signed Executive Order 2023-07 directing all state agencies to standardize time frames for how they issue permits, licenses, and certifications, and directed his Administration to create this money-back guarantee tool to request refunds when the Commonwealth does not meet those time frames.
Within 90 days of signing that Executive Order, every Commonwealth agency under the Governor’s jurisdiction catalogued all 2,400 total permits, licenses and certifications issued for the first time ever. The OTO and the Office of General Counsel immediately mobilized to review, analyze, and establish efficient application processing times for all permits, licenses, and certifications based on agency recommendations. In coordination with the OTO, the CODE PA team designed and created PAyback to modernize the Commonwealth’s application platforms and services to better serve Pennsylvanians and to publish the recommended application processing times.
“When I took office in January, I made a promise to the good people of Pennsylvania that my Administration would work at the speed of business and respond in a timely manner. Today, with the launch of PAyback, we are delivering on that promise, increasing transparency and accountability in the application process and giving Pennsylvanians the certainty they need to be successful,” Shapiro said.
Pennsylvania workers and businesses will now be able to use the PAyback application to select the specific permit, license, or certification to determine if their application is eligible for a refund. Once a resident or business completes their refund application on PAyback, the application will go directly to the Commonwealth agency issuing the permit, license, or certification. If an application is approved, Pennsylvanians will be notified within three business days and receive their refund via check within 45 days.
In addition to supporting Pennsylvanians who want to start new businesses or renew their existing permits, licenses, and certifications, PAyback will make it easier for companies who are looking to establish operations and expand in Pennsylvania.
To check your eligibility for a refund of permits, licenses, or certification application fees, visit payback.pa.gov.
Rep. Meuser votes to support
Pennsylvania’s energy industry
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas. this week voted in favor of H.R. 4821 — the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2024 — which included several provisions intended to bolster American energy production and help secure the United States’ energy independence.
Specifically, Meuser said this legislation requires the resumption of gas lease sales on previously restricted federal lands, and it also prohibits a number of onerous regulations, such as the EPA’s Clean Power Plan Rule, which would stifle energy production in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region.
“Not only does the clean natural gas industry support over 250,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, but it also contributes $24 billion to the commonwealth’s GDP,” Meuser said. “This Administration’s energy policies routinely put Venezuela over Pennsylvania and Tehran over Towanda. The provisions included in the legislation will benefit producers and consumers around the country, including in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale.”
Fetterman: $40M secured for projects
benefiting Pa.’s veterans, farmers, more
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, this week said more than $40 million in funding has been secured for Pennsylvania after the U.S. Senate passed its first bipartisan FY24 appropriations bill.
The legislative package includes millions of dollars in funding for Agriculture, Rural Development, the Food and Drug Administration; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs; and Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development. The bills will fund projects in Pennsylvania ranging from agriculture research to homelessness assistance to veterans’ health care.
“These projects will benefit our rural communities and farmers, our service members and veterans, our unhoused population, and so many other Pennsylvanians,” Fetterman said.
Directed spending requests included $2 million for housing projects in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.
Cartwright delivers $1.05M to
Northeast Pa. fire departments
U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, this week announced that $1.05 million in federal funds have been awarded to 10 regional fire departments throughout Lackawanna, Luzerne and Monroe counties to purchase new equipment and bolster fire department safety through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program (AFG).
“Firefighters put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our neighborhoods and keep our families safe,” Cartwright said. “These federal grants will provide them with the equipment and protective gear they need to further protect our communities.”
The $281,536 in AFG grants awarded are:
Luzerne County, $573,079
• Freeland Fire Department — $215,045 to purchase 24 Self-Containing Breathing Apparatus and 14 Face Pieces
• Mountain Top Hose Company No. 1 — $126,706 to purchase 14 Self-Containing Breathing Apparatus and eight Face Pieces
• Nanticoke Glen Lyon-Alden Volunteer Hose Company — $121,403 to purchase 14 Self-Containing Breathing Apparatus, 26 Face Pieces, and two Rapid Intervention Team Packs with Portable Air Supply Systems
• Pittston Township Volunteer Fire Department — $50,000 to purchase Self-Containing Breathing Apparatus Air Compressor/Fill Station
• Plains Township Fire Department — $30,952 to purchase Protective Personal Equipment Gear Cleaning Equipment
• Duryea Excelsior Hose Company No. 2 — $28,973 to purchase 10 Multi-mode Compliant Portable Radios
Lackawanna County, $281,536
• Scranton Fire Department — $70,227 to purchase Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Air Compressor Fill Station
• Taylor Fire and Rescue — $108,452 to purchase 15 Self-Containing Breathing Apparatus Units and five Face Pieces
• Throop Volunteer Hose Company No. 3 — $102,857 to purchase 15 Self-Containing Breathing Apparatus Units
Monroe County, $205,161
• Pocono Summit Volunteer Hose Company — $205,161 to purchase 22 Self-Containing Breathing Apparatus and 28 Face Pieces