Posted: | September 3, 2013 12:05 PM |
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From: | Senator Kim L. Ward |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Memo #28: Strengthening Criminal Penalties for Dilapidated Property Owners |
I plan to introduce legislation that would amend 18 Pa.C.S. §7510 (relating to municipal housing code avoidance). This criminal offense was passed into law in 1999 as part of a package of bills addressing urban blight. It was intended to be used against property owners who are continually cited for multiple building code violations and who do nothing to remedy those violations. To date, this criminal offense has only been charged in a handful of cases. There have only been two convictions; each of which resulted in a sentence of probation. Blight continues to be a major problem in my district and it seems that nothing can be done to hold the rightful owners of these dilapidated buildings accountable. By lowering the number of code violations that trigger when this criminal offense can be charged, I hope to encourage property owners to stay on the right side of the law. The legislation would do the following:
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Introduced as SB1114