PRINTER'S NO. 1718
No. 1469 Session of 1995
INTRODUCED BY DeLUCA, GIGLIOTTI, BELARDI, KUKOVICH, DRUCE,
KENNEY, JAMES, COLAIZZO, CARONE, BELFANTI, RUBLEY, VAN HORNE,
ROBINSON, ITKIN, HALUSKA AND MAITLAND, APRIL 26, 1995
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 26, 1995
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of May 21, 1937 (P.L.774, No.211), entitled "An
2 act to facilitate vehicular traffic between the eastern and
3 western sections of the Commonwealth by providing for the
4 construction, operation and maintenance of a turnpike from a
5 point at or near Middlesex in Cumberland County to a point at
6 or near Irwin in Westmoreland County; providing for the
7 creation of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and
8 conferring powers and imposing duties on said commission;
9 authorizing the issuance of turnpike revenue bonds of the
10 Commonwealth, payable solely from tolls, to pay the cost of
11 such turnpike; providing that no debt of the Commonwealth
12 shall be incurred in the exercise of any of the powers
13 granted by this act; providing for the collection of tolls
14 for the payment of such bonds and for the cost of
15 maintenance, operation and repair of the turnpike; making
16 such bonds exempt from taxation; constituting such bonds
17 legal investments in certain instances; prescribing
18 conditions upon which such turnpike shall become free;
19 providing for condemnation; granting certain powers and
20 authority to municipal subdivisions and agencies of the
21 Commonwealth to cooperate with the commission; and
22 authorizing the issuance of turnpike revenue refunding
23 bonds," further providing for commission membership; and
24 requiring the commission to submit annual reports to the
25 Governor and General Assembly.
26 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
27 hereby enacts as follows:
28 Section 1. Section 4 of the act of May 21, 1937 (P.L.774,
29 No.211), referred to as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
1 Act, amended July 3, 1974 (P.L.444, No.154), is amended to read:
2 Section 4. (a) That there is hereby created a commission to
3 be known as the "Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission" and by that
4 name the commission may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded,
5 contract and be contracted with, and have an official seal. The
6 commission is hereby constituted an instrumentality of the
7 Commonwealth, and the exercise by the commission of the powers
8 conferred by this act in the construction, operation and
9 maintenance of the turnpike shall be deemed and held to be an
10 essential governmental function of the Commonwealth.
11 (b) The commission shall consist of [five] nine members, and
12 the Secretary of Transportation shall be a member ex officio.
13 The Secretary of Transportation may authorize the Deputy
14 Secretary for Highway Administration to act in his place,
15 including the power to vote on any issue. The [four remaining]
16 remaining members shall be appointed and hold office as follows:
17 (1) Four members shall be appointed by the Governor by and
18 with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the members of the
19 Senate, and shall be residents of the Commonwealth of
20 Pennsylvania at the time of their appointment and qualification,
21 and shall also at such time have been qualified electors therein
22 for a period of at least one year next preceding their
23 appointment. The [appointed] members of the commission appointed
24 by the Governor shall continue in office for terms of four, six,
25 eight and ten years, respectively, from the dates of their
26 appointment and until their respective successors shall be duly
27 appointed and qualified, the term of each appointed member to be
28 designated by the Governor at the time of his appointment; but
29 their successors shall each be appointed for a term of ten
30 years, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall
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1 serve only for the unexpired term[, and any].
2 (2) Four members shall be nonvoting members and shall be
3 appointed as follows: one member shall be appointed by the
4 President pro tempore of the Senate; one member shall be
5 appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; one member shall
6 be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
7 one member shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the
8 House of Representatives. Nonvoting members shall be appointed
9 for a term of office concurrent with the respective elective
10 term of the appointing authority.
11 Any member of the commission shall be eligible for
12 reappointment. Immediately after such appointments, the members
13 of the commission shall enter upon their duties. Each appointed
14 member of the commission before entering upon his duties shall
15 take the oath prescribed by Article VIII of the Constitution of
16 the Commonwealth. The commission shall elect one of the
17 appointed members as chairman of the commission, and shall also
18 elect a secretary and treasurer who may not be a member of the
19 commission. Three voting members of the commission shall
20 constitute a quorum who, for all purposes, must act unanimously.
21 No vacancy in the commission shall impair the right of a quorum
22 of the commissioners to exercise all the rights and perform all
23 the duties of the commission. Before the issuance of any
24 turnpike revenue bonds under the provisions of this act, each
25 appointed member of the commission shall execute a bond in the
26 penalty of $25,000, and the secretary and treasurer shall
27 execute a bond in the penalty of $50,000 each, such bond to be
28 approved by the Governor and to be conditioned upon the faithful
29 performance of the duties of his office which bonds shall be
30 filed in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The
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1 commission shall make necessary rules and regulations for its
2 own government and shall have power and authority to acquire,
3 own, use, hire, lease, operate and dispose of personal property,
4 real property and interests in real property, and to make and
5 enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental
6 to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers
7 under this act, and to employ engineering, traffic,
8 architectural and construction experts and inspectors and
9 attorneys, and such other employes as may be necessary in its
10 judgment, and fix their compensation: Provided, however, That
11 all contracts and agreements relating to the construction of the
12 turnpike and connecting tunnels and bridges shall be approved by
13 the Department of Transportation, and the turnpike and
14 connecting tunnels and bridges shall be constructed under the
15 supervision of the Department of Transportation. Each appointed
16 member of the commission shall receive an annual salary as shall
17 be provided by law and each member of the commission shall be
18 reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of
19 his duties. All such compensation and salaries and all expenses
20 incurred in carrying out the provisions of this act shall be
21 paid solely from funds provided under the authority of this act,
22 and no liability or obligation shall be incurred hereunder
23 beyond the extent to which money shall have been provided under
24 the authority of this act. All public or private property
25 damaged or destroyed in carrying out the powers granted by this
26 act shall be restored or repaired and placed in their original
27 condition as nearly as practicable, or adequate compensation
28 made therefor out of funds provided under the authority of this
29 act.
30 (c) The commission shall biannually transmit to the Governor
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1 and the General Assembly, and shall make available to the
2 public, a report on the conduct of the commission. The report
3 shall include, but shall not be limited to, a summary of
4 significant issues which the commission resolved during the
5 reporting period, a summary of significant decisions of the
6 commission and the courts of the Commonwealth during the
7 reporting period relating to the turnpike, a summary of
8 significant anticipated issues and a status report of any
9 commission action regarding these issues. In the annual report
10 and at such other times as the commission determines, the
11 commission shall make recommendations to the Governor and the
12 General Assembly which the commission believes to be necessary
13 or desirable to protect the public interest.
14 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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