PRINTER'S NO. 111
No. 109 Session of 1975
INTRODUCED BY BURNS, WILSON, WRIGHT, WEIDNER AND LINCOLN,
JANUARY 27, 1975
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 27, 1975
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of May 1, 1933 (P.L.103, No.69), entitled "An
2 act concerning townships of the second class; and amending,
3 revising, consolidating, and changing the law relating
4 thereto," providing for recall of elected officials.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. The article heading of Article IV, act of May 1,
8 1933 (P.L.103, No.69), known as "The Second Class Township
9 Code," reenacted and amended July 10, 1947 (P.L.1481, No.567),
10 is amended and adding a subdivision to read:
11 ARTICLE IV
12 Election of Officers; Vacancies in Office; Recall of
13 Elected Officials
14 * * *
15 (d) Recall of Elected Officials
16 Section 430. Officers Subject to Recall.--Any person holding
17 an elective office of the township, whether by election,
18 succession or appointment to fill a vacancy, shall be subject to
19 removal from office at a recall election in the manner provided
1 in this article.
2 Section 431. Recall Procedure.--A recall of an incumbent of
3 an elective office shall be initiated upon petition signed by
4 twenty per cent of the registered electors of the township at
5 large. Every recall petition shall name the office and officer
6 against whom it is directed.
7 Each elector signing a recall petition shall add to his
8 signature his occupation, his residence, his election district,
9 and the date of signing. Signatures on a recall petition may be
10 on separate sheets, but each sheet shall have appended to it the
11 affidavit of some person, not necessarily a signer of the
12 petition that to the best of the affiant's knowledge and belief
13 the persons whose signatures appear on the sheet are registered
14 electors of the township, that they signed with full knowledge
15 of the contents of the petition, and that their residences are
16 correctly given.
17 A recall petition shall be tendered for filing to the board
18 of elections having jurisdiction over elections in the township.
19 No signature shall be counted as valid which is dated more than
20 sixty days prior to the date the petition is tendered for
21 filing. Upon tender to the board of elections, the petition
22 shall be available for examination by any interested person.
23 Within fifteen days after tender of the petition, the board of
24 elections shall have authority to pass upon the validity of the
25 petition and the validity and number of signatures required
26 thereon. The decision of the board of elections shall be subject
27 to immediate review on appeal to the court of common pleas.
28 Section 432. Notice to Incumbent.--As soon as the board
29 having jurisdiction over elections in the township has accepted
30 a recall petition for filing and determined its validity and
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1 sufficiency, the chairman of the board shall notify the
2 incumbent named in the petition that the petition has been
3 filed. Upon receipt of such notice, the incumbent may resign
4 from his office and thereupon the recall proceedings shall
5 terminate.
6 Section 433. Recall Elections.--If the incumbent against
7 whom a recall petition is directed does not resign from his
8 office within ten days after notice of the filing of such
9 petition shall have been given to him, the board having
10 jurisdiction over elections in the township shall arrange a
11 recall election. If a regular or special election is to be held
12 not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days after the
13 ten days have expired, the recall question shall be placed
14 before the electors at such an election. Otherwise a special
15 recall election shall be fixed by such board for a date not
16 earlier than thirty days nor later than ninety days after the
17 ten days have expired. The incumbent against whom a recall
18 petition is directed may resign at any time prior to the recall
19 election and thereupon the election shall not be held.
20 The following question shall be presented to each elector in
21 a recall election:
22 "Shall (name of officer) be recalled and removed from the
23 office of (name of office)?"
24 The above question shall appear as to every officer whose
25 recall is to be voted upon and provision shall be made for the
26 elector to vote "Yes" or "No" on the question.
27 If a majority or the registered electors who vote on the
28 question at a recall election shall vote "Yes" the incumbent
29 shall be deemed recalled and removed from office, but if a
30 majority of such registered electors shall vote "No," he shall
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1 remain in office.
2 Should the result of such election be affirmative, the date
3 of the removal and vacancy in the office shall be seven days
4 subsequent to the date when the results of election are
5 certified by the board having jurisdiction thereon, unless such
6 date is further postponed by order of court.
7 Section 434. Disqualification for Office.--No person who has
8 been removed from an elective office by a recall election or who
9 has resigned from such an elective office after a recall
10 petition directed to him has been filed, shall be eligible for
11 election or appointment to any office of the township within two
12 years after his removal or resignation.
13 Section 435. Limitations.--No recall petition shall be filed
14 against any incumbent of an elective office within the first
15 year or the last nine months of the term of his office or within
16 nine months after an unsuccessful recall election against him,
17 but an officer who has been reelected for a successive term
18 shall be subject to recall also during the first year of such
19 term.
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