The Pennyslvania Supreme Court has found that the tax that funds the popular Local Share Account grant program is unconstitutional.

However legislators will have 120 days to come up with a new law before the decision takes effect.

The Local Share Account grant program is one of the most popular in the state. Boroughs, non-profits, and economic development groups across the state count on it to purchase police cars, rehabilitate structures and fund non-profits.

The deadline to submit applications for the 2017 program is Oct. 1, and many municipalities in Carbon County are planning to do just that.

The Supreme Court issued a decision Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by Mount Airy #1 LLC, the company which owns Monroe County's Mount Airy Casino, against the Pa. Department of Revenue, finding that the "Local Share Tax" levied under the state's gaming law violates the equal protection clause.

Mount Airy argued that the Local Share Tax authorized by the state's gaming law were applied unequally. They also argued that casinos who had less than $500 million per year in gross revenue have to pay an unequal share of the tax.

The court didn't have a problem with the local share tax itself, but rather the unequal way that it is applied.

Under Act 71, the state's gaming law, casinos outside of Philadelphia are required to pay taxes on their gross revenue to the municipality and county where they are located. That money goes into the Local Share Account.

The LSA program is used to fund grants for projects in the counties where the casinos are located. Mount Airy's is unique, because the surrounding counties -- Carbon, Lackawanna, Northampton, Pike, and Wayne -- are also eligible.

In their opinion, the court recognized the importance of the LSA program to many municipalities. They agreed to put a stay on the decision for 120 days so that legislators can have a chance to rewrite the law.