House Joint Resolution 487, passed by the 1995 General Assembly, created a commission to study the state and local tax system and the services delivery system. The commission held three public hearings around the Commonwealth. During its deliberations, the commission heard from state and local authorities, business representatives and private citizens who voiced their concerns about the issues before the commission. Of particular interest on everyone's list was the business, professional and occupational license (BPOL) tax.

Both the system for the delivery of services and the raising of revenues to fund such services have developed in piecemeal fashion over the years. This has led to questions regarding the efficiency of service delivery and the equity of state and local taxes. To examine the two areas more thoroughly, the Services Task Force and the Revenues Task Force were created. Both task forces began their work in November.

Realizing its task would take longer than one year to complete, the commission proposed legislation to continue the study for an additional year. It also recommended supporting the concepts and principles embodied in the BPOL uniform ordinance legislation which was originally introduced during the 1995 General Assembly Session.