House Finance Committee approves $100 educator tax credit and advances bill to House floor
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Summary
The House Finance Committee approved an amendment to House Bill 1900 to align its definitions with the federal IRS educator deduction and then voted 25–1 to report the bill to the full House. The measure would create a state tax credit of up to $100 for educators' out‑of‑pocket classroom expenses.
The House Finance Committee voted 25–1 to report House Bill 1900 to the full House after approving Amendment 1980, proposed by Chair Samuelson, which aligns the bill's language with the federal IRS definition of "educator." Representative Rivera is the bill sponsor and was present for the committee session; Representative Nielsen is listed as a co‑sponsor.
Senior committee legislative executive director Mark Forman summarized the Samuelson amendment: "This amendment would do 3 items. It would remove certified teacher and replace it with educator, which aligns with the I r the federal IRS definition, clarifies joint returns for married spouses who would both be educators, and it makes it clear the department can request further verifying information." The committee then voted on the amendment; there were no negative votes and the amendment passed unanimously.
Committee discussion emphasized that the state proposal is modeled on a longstanding federal deduction. Committee members noted the federal educator expense deduction has existed since 2002 and was made permanent in 2015; under federal rules, educators may deduct up to $300 of qualified out‑of‑pocket classroom expenses as a federal deduction. Committee staff said many educators report spending about $800 per year out of pocket and offered a numerical example that a teacher in the 22 percent federal tax bracket would save about $66 under the federal deduction. The proposed Pennsylvania measure replaces the federal deduction with a state tax credit capped at a $100 benefit (pro rated if an educator's qualifying expenses are less than $100), according to the amendment discussion.
After the amendment vote, the chair called House Bill 1900 as amended for a roll call vote; the senior committee legislative assistant conducted the roll call. The transcript records multiple members answering "yes" during the roll call. The committee reported the bill to the House floor by a vote of 25 to 1. The transcript does not identify which member cast the single "no" vote.
Provenance: Amendment summary begins at transcript block starting 00:06:42 and the final vote and referral appear at 00:11:01–00:11:16 in the transcript.
