Member Biography

Patrick M. Browne 

Patrick M. Browne 
Sessions Office Position District Party
2005       16 Republican
2006       16 Republican
2007       16 Republican
2008       16 Republican
2009     Majority Caucus Administrator 16 Republican
2010     Majority Caucus Administrator 16 Republican
2011     Majority Whip 16 Republican
2012     Majority Whip 16 Republican
2013     Majority Whip 16 Republican
2014     Majority Whip 16 Republican
2015     Majority Appropriations Committee Chair 16 Republican
2016     Majority Appropriations Committee Chair 16 Republican
2017     Majority Appropriations Committee Chair 16 Republican
2018     Majority Appropriations Committee Chair 16 Republican
2019     Majority Appropriations Committee Chair 16 Republican
2020     Majority Appropriations Committee Chair 16 Republican
2021     Majority Appropriations Committee Chair 16 Republican
2022     Majority Appropriations Committee Chair 16 Republican

COUNTIES: Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton  


Biography

12/08/1963 -

Patrick M. Browne (R16) Lehigh (Part), Monroe (Part), and Northampton (Part) Counties 2005-2014 (R16) Lehigh (Part) County 2015-2022

Early Life:

Patrick M. Browne, born December 8, 1963, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania; son of James and Bernice Darcy Browne; Allentown Central Catholic High School, 1982; University of Notre Dame, (B.A.), business administration/accounting, 1986; Temple University, Beasley School of Law, J.D., 1993; Certified Public Accountant; attorney; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1995-2005; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, Special election, April 5, 2005-2022; Secretary of Revenue, 2023 – present; married, Heather, son Alex. 

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, Saint Paul's Catholic Church, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Early Career:

Certified Public Accountant, firms of, Coopers and Lybrand, Philadelphia; senior associate, Price Waterhouse, New York. 

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1995-2005; appointed, Legislative Commission on Restructuring Pennsylvania's Urban Schools, 1997; appointed, Select Committee on Pharmaceuticals, 2000; appointed, Legislative Audit Advisory Commission, 2001-2005; chairman Legislative Audit Advisory Commission 2001-2004; appointed, Joint State Government Commission, 2001-2022; appointed, Select Committee Investigating the Integration of Human Rights Standards in Pennsylvania Laws and Policies, 2002, 2004; resigned, May 3, 2005. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, Special election,16thd district, Lehigh (Part), Monroe (Part), and Northampton (Part) Counties, April 5, 2005-2014, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, Special election,16thd district, Lehigh (Part) County 2015-2022; Majority Caucus Administrator, 2009-2011, Senate Majority Whip, 2011-2014, Chairman, Appropriations Committee, 2014-2022; appointed, board, Public Employee Retirement Commission; appointed, board, Public School Employees Retirement System, 2009-2022; appointed, co-chairman, Public School Building Construction and Reconstruction (PlanCon) Advisory Committee, 2016-2018; appointed, co-chairman, Higher Education Funding Commission, 2019-2022; appointed, co-chairman, Special Education Funding Commission 2019-2022; elected, delegate, Republican National Convention, 2008, 2012; co-chairman, bi-partisan, bi-cameral Early Childhood Education Caucus and the Legislative Arts and Culture Caucus; member, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, 2014-2022; committee assignments, Appropriations (Chairman, 2014-2022), Education, Finance (Vice Chairman), Health and Human Services, Local Government. 

Crafted the one-of-a-kind, 130-acre Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) to help revitalize and expand the tax base of the then financially struggling city of Allentown. There has already been more than $1 billion of new development investment in Allentown and more than $3 million in annual school property tax revenues for Allentown School District generated through the zone. The NIZ has already served as a model for economic development in other distressed areas – cities, boroughs and townships – throughout the Commonwealth with the creation of the City Revitalization and Improvement Zones (CRIZ) which will afford a similar tax financing program to smaller cities in Pennsylvania, 2009.

Democratic Governor-elect Josh Shapiro nominated, Secretary of Revenue, January 12, 2023; took office on June 29, 2023, after the Pennsylvania State Senate failed to act within the constitutionally prescribed 25-legislative-day period.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Legacy:

Older brother, acclaimed fashion designer Thom Browne who designed first Lady Michelle Obama's 2013 Inauguration Day ensemble.

Cited:

The Pennsylvania Manual, (2019-2020). Mattos, S., (Editor). (Volume 124) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 3-33, 3-38; Biographies of Members of the Senate, page 3-16.