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                                                      PRINTER'S NO. 1678

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


HOUSE BILL

No. 1424 Session of 1999


        INTRODUCED BY MAITLAND, FARGO, BUNT, CALTAGIRONE, CLARK, HARHAI,
           HERSHEY, LAUGHLIN, NAILOR, PLATTS, ROBERTS, ROSS, RUBLEY,
           SEYFERT, STERN, VANCE AND YOUNGBLOOD, MAY 4, 1999

        REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MAY 4, 1999

                                     AN ACT

     1  Amending the act of May 21, 1943 (P.L.571, No.254), entitled, as
     2     amended, "An act relating to assessment for taxation in
     3     counties of the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth
     4     classes; designating the subjects, property and persons
     5     subject to and exempt from taxation for county, borough,
     6     town, township, school, except in cities and county
     7     institution district purposes; and providing for and
     8     regulating the assessment and valuation thereof for such
     9     purposes; creating in each such county a board for the
    10     assessment and revision of taxes; defining the powers and
    11     duties of such boards; providing for the acceptance of this
    12     act by cities; regulating the office of ward, borough, town
    13     and township assessors; abolishing the office of assistant
    14     triennial assessor in townships of the first class; providing
    15     for the appointment of a chief assessor, assistant assessors
    16     and other employes; providing for their compensation payable
    17     by such counties; prescribing certain duties of and certain
    18     fees to be collected by the recorder of deeds and municipal
    19     officers who issue building permits; imposing duties on
    20     taxables making improvements on land and grantees of land;
    21     prescribing penalties; and eliminating the triennial
    22     assessment," further providing for issuance of a building
    23     permit and for information on improvements; and increasing a
    24     penalty.

    25     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
    26  hereby enacts as follows:
    27     Section 1.  Section 602.2 of the act of May 21, 1943
    28  (P.L.571, No.254), known as The Fourth to Eighth Class County


     1  Assessment Law, amended July 31, 1968 (P.L.1034, No.314), is
     2  amended to read:
     3     Section 602.2.  Abstracts of Building Permits and Information
     4  on Improvements to be Furnished Board.--(a)  The office issuing
     5  building permits in every political subdivision of each county
     6  shall keep a daily record, separate and apart from all other
     7  records, of every building permit issued, which shall set forth
     8  the following information: the date of issuance, the names and
     9  addresses of the persons owning and a description sufficient to
    10  identify the property for which the permit was issued, the
    11  nature of the improvements and the amount in dollars in which
    12  issued. On or before the first Monday of each month, such office
    13  shall file the daily record in the office of the board of the
    14  county in which it is located, together with a certificate of
    15  the head of such office that its contents are correct. Such
    16  office may charge and collect from each person to whom a
    17  building permit is issued a sum of not more than [one dollar
    18  ($1.00)] ten dollars ($10.00) which shall be in full
    19  compensation for its services under the provisions of this act.
    20     (b)  Whenever any person makes improvements other than
    21  painting of or normal regular repairs to a building aggregating
    22  [one thousand dollars ($1000)] two thousand five hundred dollars
    23  ($2,500) or less in value annually to any real property in any
    24  political subdivision in the county and he is not required to
    25  obtain a building permit therefor by any political subdivision
    26  within thirty days of commencing the improvements, he shall
    27  furnish the following information to the board: the name and
    28  address of the person owning and a description sufficient to
    29  identify the property involved, the nature of the improvements
    30  made or to be made and the amount in dollars of the value of the
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     1  improvements.
     2     Any person who wilfully fails to comply with the provisions
     3  of this subsection, or who in furnishing such information
     4  wilfully falsifies the same, shall, upon conviction thereof in a
     5  summary proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than
     6  [fifty dollars ($50.00)] two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
     7     (c)  At least once every three months, the board shall
     8  forward copies of such improvement records to the assessors of
     9  the political subdivision in which such improvements are made or
    10  contemplated. The assessors shall visit the site of the
    11  improvements and secure any information the board requests,
    12  which may include the description and measurements, type of
    13  construction, degree of completion, cost and probable value of
    14  the improvements.
    15     Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.










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