Armed with eight boxes filled with 30,000 signed petitions, including some from each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, members of the Pennsylvania Liberty Alliance and the Pennsylvania Property Rights Association came to the state Capitol on Tuesday to call for the elimination of school property taxes.

Saying more than 10,000 people in Pennsylvania lost their homes through tax sales this year "through this egregious and regressive system of taxation," Ron Boltz of the liberty alliance said, "the people of this state have spoken and it's time for the Legislature to stand up."

He and fellow alliance member Jim Rodkey said they understand education must be funded but the revenue source has to come from some place other than a tax on people's property which they called harmful to the commonwealth, its people and the state's overall economy.

Sen. Dave Argall, R-Schuylkill County, who has been working on the property tax elimination issue since he was first elected to the Senate in 2009, said attempts have been made over the past decades to tweak, fix, and reform property taxes.

"Those ideas never worked. The only way to fix it is to eliminate it and start all over again," he said.

He added the Senate's 24-24 tie vote in the last legislative session that defeated the school property tax elimination bill was heartbreaking but he isn't giving up.

"The people that brought me to this issue have never given up as you can see collecting 30,000 signatures all across Pennsylvania," Argall said. "My message to them today and always will be if you're in, I'm in."

Rep. Frank Ryan and Sen. Mike Folmer, both Lebanon County Republicans, joined Argall at the rally as did Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner offering a few remarks before the group made their way to the governor's office to deliver the petitions.

"We need to dream big, act big by working to reach the much-needed and overdue goal of eliminating school property taxes," Folmer said. "Quite frankly , ladies and gentlemen and this has been said many times ... no tax should be able to tax you out of your home."