SENATE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 915 PRINTER'S NO. 1974
No. 853 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY STURLA, JADLOWIEC, VAN HORNE, VEON, DALEY, TIGUE,
TRELLO, WOZNIAK, ROONEY, SCHULER, HENNESSEY, THOMAS, DEMPSEY,
WAUGH, PESCI, MIHALICH, DENT, STETLER AND PETRONE,
MARCH 22, 1993
SENATOR FUMO, APPROPRIATIONS, IN SENATE, RE-REPORTED AS AMENDED,
MAY 26, 1993
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 23, 1931 (P.L.932, No.317), entitled
2 "An act relating to cities of the third class; and amending,
3 revising, and consolidating the law relating thereto,"
4 further providing for the sale of real and personal property;
5 providing for FIRE OFFICERS AND FOR appointments to the board <--
6 of health; permitting interests in firefighters' pension
7 funds to vest after 12 years under certain conditions;
8 providing for the amount of the retirement allowance benefit
9 vested; adding a definition; and making an editorial change.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. The act of June 23, 1931 (P.L.932, No.317), known
13 as The Third Class City Code, reenacted and amended June 28,
14 1951 (P.L.662, No.164), is amended by adding a section SECTIONS <--
15 to read:
16 Section 1919. Sales of Real and Personal Property to Certain
17 Entities.--Any provision of this act requiring advertising for
18 bids and sale to the highest bidder shall not apply where city
19 real or personal property is to be sold to a county, city,
1 borough, town, township, institution district, school district,
2 volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service or volunteer
3 rescue squad located within the city, or municipal authority
4 pursuant to the act of May 2, 1945 (P.L.382, No.164), known as
5 the "Municipality Authorities Act of 1945," or a corporation not
6 for profit engaged in community industrial development. Any
7 provision of this act requiring advertising for bids and sale to
8 the highest bidder shall not apply where real property is to be
9 sold to a corporation not for profit organized as a public
10 library for its exclusive use as a library, to a medical service
11 corporation not for profit, to a housing corporation not for
12 profit, to the Commonwealth or to the Federal Government. When
13 real property is to be sold to a corporation not for profit
14 organized as a public library for its exclusive use as a library
15 or to a medical service corporation not for profit or to a
16 housing corporation not for profit, council may elect to accept
17 a nominal consideration for the sale as it shall deem
18 appropriate. Real property sold pursuant to this section shall
19 be subject to the condition that when the property is not used
20 for the purposes of the conveyance, the property shall revert to
21 the city.
22 SECTION 2109. SALARY OF NONUNION FIRE OFFICERS.--EXCEPT IN <--
23 CITIES OF THE FIRST AND SECOND CLASS, FIRE CHIEFS AND HEADS OF
24 FIRE DEPARTMENTS WHO HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM BARGAINING UNITS
25 UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 24, 1968 (P.L.237, NO.111), REFERRED TO AS
26 THE POLICEMEN AND FIREMEN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT, BY RULINGS
27 OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LABOR RELATIONS BOARD SHALL RECEIVE NOT LESS
28 THAN THE SAME DOLLAR INCREASE, INCLUDING FRINGE BENEFITS BUT
29 EXCLUDING OVERTIME AND FESTIVE HOLIDAY PAY, AS RECEIVED BY THE
30 HIGHEST RANKING FIRE OFFICER PARTICIPATING IN THE BARGAINING
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1 UNIT.
2 Section 2. Section 2302 of the act, amended June 6, 1963
3 (P.L.75, No.50), is amended to read:
4 Section 2302. Qualifications; Term; Removal.--The members of
5 the board of health shall be residents of the city[, except in
6 the case of physicians who shall have their main office in the
7 city]. At least one, and whenever possible two, shall be
8 [reputable physicians of not less than two years' experience in
9 the practice of their profession.] currently licensed or
10 certified by the State Board of Medicine, the State Board of
11 Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators, the State Board of
12 Podiatry, the State Board of Veterinary Medicine, the State
13 Board of Occupational Therapy Education and Licensure, the State
14 Board of Osteopathic Medicine, the State Board of Pharmacy, the
15 State Board of Physical Therapy or the State Board of Nursing to
16 be engaged in a medical, medically related or health care
17 profession or business and shall be a resident or have an office
18 in the city. If a licensed or certified medical or health care
19 professional cannot be identified to serve on the board, council
20 may appoint any individual who has experience or is
21 knowledgeable of public health issues. Upon the creation of the
22 board, council shall designate for one appointee a term of one
23 year, for another a term of two years, and so on up to five;
24 thereafter, one member of the board shall be appointed annually
25 to serve for a term of five years from the first Monday of April
26 succeeding his appointment. Council may remove members of the
27 board for official misconduct or neglect of duty. All vacancies
28 shall be filled for the unexpired term.
29 Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
30 Section 4320.1. Limited Vested Benefit for Firefighters.--
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1 (a) The ordinance may provide for a limited vested benefit if
2 such would conform to section 305 of the act of December 18,
3 1984 (P.L.1005, No.205), known as the "Municipal Pension Plan
4 Funding Standard and Recovery Act." Under the provisions of the
5 benefit, should a member of the firefighters' pension fund
6 before completing the minimum age and minimum period of
7 continuous service requirements but after having completed
8 twelve years of full-time service for any reason cease to be
9 employed as a full-time firefighter, the member shall be
10 entitled to vest his or her retirement benefits subject to the
11 following conditions:
12 (1) the member must file with the management board of the
13 firefighters' pension fund a written notice of his or her
14 intention to vest;
15 (2) the member must include in the notice the date the
16 member intends to terminate his or her service as a full-time
17 firefighter;
18 (3) the termination date shall be at least thirty days later
19 than the date of notice to vest;
20 (4) the member must be in good standing with the fire
21 department on the date of notice to vest; and
22 (5) the board shall indicate on the notice to vest the rate
23 of the monthly pay of the member as of the date of the notice to
24 vest or the highest average annual salary which the member
25 received during any five years of service preceding the date,
26 whichever is the higher.
27 (b) Upon reaching the date which would have been the
28 member's retirement date had the member continued his or her
29 full-time employment with the fire department, the member shall
30 notify the board, in writing, that the member desires to collect
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1 his or her pension. The amount of retirement benefits the member
2 is entitled to receive under this section shall be computed as
3 follows:
4 (1) the initial determination of the member's base
5 retirement benefits shall be computed on the salary indicated on
6 the notice to vest; and
7 (2) the portion of the base retirement benefits due the
8 member shall be determined by applying to the base amount the
9 percentage that his or her years of service actually rendered
10 bears to the years of service which would have been rendered had
11 the member continued to be employed by the department until his
12 or her minimum retirement date.
13 Section 4. Section 4322(a) of the act, amended October 4,
14 1978 (P.L.950, No.188), is amended to read:
15 Section 4322. Pensions and Service Increments.--(a)
16 Payments of pensions shall not be a charge on any fund in the
17 treasury of the city or under its control save the firemen's
18 pension fund herein provided for. The basis of the pension of a
19 member shall be determined by the monthly salary of the member
20 at the date of vesting under section 4320.1 or retirement, or
21 the highest average annual salary which he received during any
22 five years of service preceding retirement, whichever is the
23 higher, whether for disability, or by reason of age or service,
24 and except as to service increments provided for in subsection
25 (b) of this section, shall be one-half the annual salary of such
26 member at the time of vesting under section 4320.1 or retirement
27 computed at such monthly or average annual rate, whichever is
28 the higher. In the case of the payment of pensions to members
29 for permanent injury incurred in service, and to families of
30 members killed or who die in service, the amount and
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1 commencement of the payment of pensions shall be fixed by
2 regulations of the board. Such regulations shall not take into
3 consideration the amount and duration of workmen's compensation
4 allowed by law. Payments to surviving spouses of members retired
5 on pension or killed in the service on or after January 1, 1960,
6 or who die in the service on or after January 1, 1968, shall be
7 the amount payable to the member or which would have been
8 payable had he been retired at the time of his death.
9 * * *
10 Section 5. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
11 Section 4328. Definitions.--As used in this subdivision, the
12 term "salary" is defined as the fixed amount of compensation
13 paid at regular, periodic intervals by the city to the member
14 and from which pension contributions have been deducted.
15 Section 6. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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