Revenue Secretary Pat Browne asks Pa. Supreme Court to intervene in Senate tax records row

Pennsylvania Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg for the Capital-Star).

Pennsylvania Revenue Secretary Pat Browne filed an appeal Wednesday asking the state Supreme Court to block a state Senate subpoena to testify about an economic development program in Allentown.

Browne's filing is the latest move in a showdown between Senate Republicans and Browne, a former Republican state senator who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to oversee the collection of taxes by the state Revenue Department.

Brown created the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) when he was a lawmaker to benefit his former Senate district, which included part of the city's struggling business district. The program allows developers to use taxes collected from businesses in their properties to pay the interest on loans for capital improvements.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-Lehigh), who ousted Browne in a 2022 primary challenge, told the Capital-Star this week he wants the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to audit the program to ensure that the NIZ is benefitting the Lehigh Valley region as a whole and not only subsidizing developers in Allentown.

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution in July directing the audit and requesting detailed tax information from Browne. Browne responded in a lawsuit Oct. 7 that the information the Senate is seeking is confidential under the law that created the NIZ and he would face criminal penalties for releasing it.

After Browne's suit was filed, Senate Republicans passed a resolution directing the Senate sergeant-at-arms to bring Browne to the chamber to face contempt and jail if he continued to refuse.

Browne's Supreme Court appeal follows a Commonwealth Court ruling in Browne's suit on Tuesday that the lower court had no jurisdiction to issue an injunction against compelling Browne to hand over the tax records.

The Commonwealth Court said that the issue was not ripe for judicial intervention because there has not been a confrontation between the parties. Senate Democrats filed separate lawsuits asking the court to block the Senate subpoena.

The NIZ has spurred more than $1 billion in new development in Allentown, according to the authority that oversees the program.