House Committee Amends Senate-Passed Tax Code Bill On Data Centers, Then Adjourned To Sept. 28

On July 1, the House Rules Committee amended the Senate-passed Tax Code bill with data center-related provisions-- House Bill 1667-- to include its own repeal of the Gross Receipts Tax on electric bills, repeal of the data center sales tax exemption and other provisions. 

The House then adjourned to September 28, but subject to the call of the House Speaker.

The gut and replace amendment included these provisions--

-- Exempting residential electricity accounts from the gross receipts tax;

-- Eliminating the sales tax exemption for data center equipment;

-- Revising language related to utility return on equity (ROE) for setting utility rates;

-- Requiring mandatory unitary combined reporting for Pennsylvania’s Corporate Net Income Tax;

-- Imposing a digital advertising tax dedicated to funding senior property tax relief;

-- Increasing and restructuring education-related tax credits; and

-- Establishing a school supplies tax holiday.

The amendment was approved by a vote of 18 to 15-- Republicans opposing.

The bill was reported out of the Committee by the same vote-- Republicans opposing.

As these votes indicate, there is no bipartisan agreement on these provisions and it's not part of any overall state budget settlement.

Click Here for a copy of the amended bill.

Related Articles This Week:

-- Senate Committee Moves Bills Authorizing Individual Municipalities To Enact Moratoriums On Consideration Of A.I. Data Center Proposals-- After Voting Down A Statewide 3-Year Moratorium  [PaEN]  

-- The Center Square: House Passes [3rd] Bill Putting Conditions On Qualifying For State Sales Tax Exemption For Data Centers, Including A Ban On Nondisclosure Agreements

-- PJM Extends Maximum Generation And Load Management Alerts To July 2; Forecast Power Peak On July 2 Still Above All Time Record  [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Maximum Generation, Load Management, Low Voltage Alerts For July 1; Received Emergency Order To Put Data Centers On Backup Generators; Forecasts Peak Power Above 2006 Record For July 2  [PaEN]

-- NRDC: PJM Membership Votes On Recommendations To Help Prevent A.I. Data Centers From Overloading The Electric Grid; PJM Board Will Have Final Say  [PaEN]  

NewsClips:

-- Spotlight PA: State Lawmakers Want To Lower Electric Bills By Cutting Gross Receipts Tax, But The Budget Impact Might Be Too Big To Swallow

-- PA Capital-Star: Garrity And Shapiro Have Accused Each Other Of Flip-Flopping On A.I. Data Centers - Are They Both Right?

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Instead Of Diving Headfirst - PA Lawmakers Must Pass A Full Moratorium On Considering Hyperscale A.I. Data Center Proposals - By Ginny Marcille-Kerrslake, Food and Water Watch In West Whiteland Twp. 

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Natural Gas Powers The Region, So Why Are Pennsylvanians Paying More? - By Sen. Kim Ward [Reality - Data Center Demand Spikes, 60% Of Electric Comes From Natural Gas And Its Price Spikes] 

[Posted: July 1, 2026]  PA Environment Digest