Pa. Supreme Court rejects appeal from Pat Browne asking it to block subpoena over NIZ records

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Revenue Secretary Pat Browne, where he asked the justices to block a state Senate subpoena for him to testify about the NIZ. Browne created the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone while he was a state senator in 2009.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman says he wants to make sure taxpayers are getting a good return on that investment. Browne has maintained he cannot release confidential, private business tax records to the legislature.

Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court had ruled that Browne will have to testify under oath over the ongoing battle between his office and Senate Republicans over access to the NIZ tax records. Coleman, who defeated Browne in the Republican primary in 2022, has spearheaded the effort to take a deeper look into the NIZ and its effectiveness. "This information isn't going to be made public.

In fact, it's not even going to state senators. it's actually going to the auditors that are auditing the zone," Coleman has said..