Probst urges Senate to act on housing relief bills before session ends
Rep. Tarah Probst September 14, 2026 | 4:02 PM
HARRISBURG, Sept. 14 – With only six scheduled session days remaining in the 2025-26 legislative session, state Rep. Tarah Probst is urging the Pennsylvania Senate to take immediate action on two separate bills that would provide relief to Pennsylvanians facing significant financial pressures.
House Bill 1257 would expand property tax relief for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses, while H.B. 1250 would protect residents of mobile home parks from excessive lot-rent increases, particularly seniors and people living on fixed incomes.
“These bills address two very different problems, but they have one thing in common: real people in our communities are struggling right now,” Probst said. “We have only days left to move these bills forward. The Senate needs to stop playing games and start doing its job.”
Probst is the prime sponsor of H.B. 1257, which proposes a constitutional amendment to exempt from property taxes veterans who are deemed at least 50% disabled, regardless of whether their disability resulted from combat service. The legislation would also guarantee these benefits for eligible surviving spouses, including spouses of veterans who were killed in action, taken prisoner, or went missing in action.
The bill passed the state House by an overwhelming 202-1 vote in July and is currently before the Senate State Government Committee.
“Our veterans and their families have given so much in service to our country,” Probst said. “We have an opportunity to recognize that sacrifice by providing meaningful property tax relief to disabled veterans and their surviving spouses. For those living on fixed incomes, that relief can make a real difference in their ability to remain in their homes and communities.”
Because H.B. 1257 is a proposed constitutional amendment, it must pass the General Assembly in two consecutive sessions before it can go before voters.
“If the Senate takes up H.B. 1257 now, we can run it again early in 2027 and potentially put this constitutional amendment before voters in November 2027,” Probst said. “But if the Senate refuses to act, we lose an entire year in the process. Even if I get it passed next year, we would then have to wait until the 2029-30 legislative session to get it on the ballot.
“The Senate is playing games with veterans, and it is infuriating. Every delay means disabled veterans and surviving spouses wait longer for relief. They have already sacrificed enough.”
Probst is also a cosponsor of H.B. 1250.
That bill passed the state House in June and is currently before the Senate Urban Affairs & Housing Committee.
“This is happening as we speak in my district,” Probst said. “Private equity is buying up mobile home parks and raising lot rents to levels that elderly and disabled residents simply cannot afford. These are people who own their homes but are being priced out of the land underneath them.
They can’t afford to move, and they can’t afford these massive rent increases. They are being forced to choose between paying an unaffordable lot rent and losing the home they own. For many elderly and disabled residents, that means they are on the verge of homelessness. That is simply unacceptable.”
While the two bills address different issues, both are aimed at helping Pennsylvanians remain in their homes and communities.
“Whether it is a disabled veteran who has sacrificed for our country or a mobile home resident who is facing an unaffordable increase in their lot rent, these Pennsylvanians deserve the opportunity to live with dignity and financial security,” Probst said.
Probst represents the 189th Legislative District, which includes Delaware Water Gap, East Stroudsburg, and Stroudsburg boroughs; the eastern parts of Stroud and Middle Smithfield townships; Smithfield Township in Monroe County; and Lehman, Porter, and Delaware townships in Pike County.
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CONTACT: Ryan Bevitz
House Democratic Communications Office
Phone: 717-787-7895
Email: rbevitz@pahouse.net
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