"This is a serious problem we must address if we are going to be successful in controlling the cost of government and lowering the tax burden," said McHose.

The Public Employees Benefit Reform Committee was one of four committees that was established by the Legislature to review and formulate proposals to address property tax reform. The others committees were:

Public School Funding Reform, Government Consolidation and Shared Services and Constitutional Reform and Citizens' Property Tax Constitutional Convention.

As a longtime advocate of a special session to address property taxes, Assemblywoman McHose was pleased to see it finally instituted. "We're in a property tax crisis and the time to act is now," said McHose. "People and businesses are leaving this state because it is growing, more and more, unaffordable. We need to develop a plan that provides a permanent, responsible solution to out-of-control property taxes."

McHose also stressed that it is important that the debate involving property tax reform include a discussion on the school funding issue. McHose said she was encouraged seeing that even some top Democrats are calling for a revision to the school funding formula that allocates a majority of education spending to the inner city, Abbott districts. Alison is pushing her bill which would fund the urban school districts at the average statewide per pupil cost, saving the State over $1 billion.

"When the courts force the state to continue to expend greater monies on Abbott school districts, the share of Abbot state funding in suburban and rural, middle-class communities goes down resulting in ever-increasing property tax levels," said McHose. "Education funding must be made more fair and affordable because both the system and the State are broke."