PRINTER'S NO. 562
No. 525 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY BOSCOLA, MARCH 24, 2003
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 24, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 25, 1931 (P.L.1352, No.332), entitled
2 "An act providing for joint action by the Commonwealth of
3 Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey in the
4 administration, operation, and maintenance of bridges over
5 the Delaware River, and for the construction of additional
6 bridge facilities across said river; authorizing the
7 Governor, for these purposes, to enter into an agreement with
8 the State of New Jersey; creating a Delaware River Joint Toll
9 Bridge Commission and specifying the powers and duties
10 thereof, including the power to finance the construction of
11 additional bridges by the issuance of revenue bonds to be
12 redeemed from revenues derived from tolls collected at such
13 bridges; transferring to said commission all powers now
14 exercised by existing commission created to acquire toll
15 bridges over the Delaware River; and making an
16 appropriation," providing for veto power by the Governor over
17 certain actions.
18 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19 hereby enacts as follows:
20 Section 1. Article II of section 1 of the act of June 25,
21 1931 (P.L.1352, No.332), referred to as the Delaware River Joint
22 Toll Bridge Compact, amended July 11, 1996 (P.L.556, No.99), is
23 amended to read:
24 ARTICLE II.
25 For the effectuation of its authorized purposes, the
1 commission is hereby granted the following powers as limited and
2 supplemented by the act of July 1, 1996 (P.L.457, No.70),
3 entitled "A supplement to the act of June 25, 1931 (P.L.1352,
4 No.332), entitled 'An act providing for joint action by the
5 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey in the
6 administration, operation, and maintenance of bridges over the
7 Delaware River, and for the construction of additional bridge
8 facilities across said river; authorizing the Governor, for
9 these purposes, to enter into an agreement with the State of New
10 Jersey; creating a Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
11 and specifying the powers and duties thereof, including the
12 power to finance the construction of additional bridges by the
13 issuance of revenue bonds to be redeemed from revenues derived
14 from tolls collected at such bridges; transferring to said
15 commission all powers now exercised by existing commission
16 created to acquire toll bridges over the Delaware River; and
17 making an appropriation,' requiring the commission to adopt
18 competitive purchasing, equal opportunity employment and
19 competitive hiring practices":
20 (a) To have perpetual succession.
21 (b) To sue and be sued.
22 (c) To adopt and use an official seal.
23 (d) To elect a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and
24 treasurer, and appoint an engineer. The secretary, treasurer,
25 and engineer need not be members of the commission.
26 (e) To adopt suitable by-laws for the management of its
27 affairs.
28 (f) To appoint such other officers, agents and employees as
29 it may require for the performance of its duties.
30 (g) To determine the qualifications and duties of its
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1 appointees, and to fix their compensation, except that the
2 commission shall not employ directly or as an independent
3 contractor a member of the commission for a period of two years
4 after the expiration of the term of office of that member.
5 (h) To enter into contracts.
6 (i) To acquire, own, hire, use, operate, and dispose of
7 personal property.
8 (j) To acquire, own, use, lease, operate, and dispose of
9 real property and interest in real property, and to make
10 improvements thereon.
11 (j.1) At its option, to authorize the Department of Property
12 and Supplies to prescribe standards and specifications and make
13 contracts and purchases of various materials and services for
14 the commission, pursuant to the provisions of sections 2403,
15 2403.1 and 2409 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177), known as
16 "The Administrative Code of 1929."
17 (k) To grant the use of, by franchise, lease, and otherwise,
18 and to make and collect charges for the use of, any property or
19 facility owned or controlled by it.
20 (l) To borrow money upon its bonds or other obligations,
21 either with or without security.
22 (m) To exercise the power of eminent domain.
23 (n) To determine the exact location, system, and character
24 of, and all other matters in connection with, any and all
25 improvements or facilities which it may be authorized to own,
26 construct, establish, effectuate, maintain, operate or control.
27 (o) In addition to the foregoing powers, to exercise the
28 powers, duties, authority and jurisdiction heretofore conferred
29 and imposed upon the aforesaid commissions, hereby constituted a
30 joint commission by reciprocal legislation of the Commonwealth
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1 of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey, with respect to the
2 acquisition of toll bridges over the Delaware River, the
3 management, operation and maintenance of such bridges, and the
4 location, acquisition, construction, administration, operation
5 and maintenance of additional bridge communications over the
6 Delaware River at any location north of the boundary line
7 between Bucks County and Philadelphia County in the Commonwealth
8 of Pennsylvania, as extended across the Delaware River to the
9 New Jersey shore of said river. The powers granted in this
10 paragraph shall be in addition to those powers granted by
11 paragraph (a) of Article X of this agreement.
12 (p) To exercise all other powers, not inconsistent with the
13 Constitutions of the States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey or of
14 the United States, which may be reasonably necessary or
15 incidental to the effectuation of its authorized purposes or to
16 the exercise of any of the powers granted to the commission by
17 this agreement or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto,
18 except the power to levy taxes or assessments for benefits; and
19 generally to exercise, in connection with its property and
20 affairs and in connection with property under its control, any
21 and all powers which might be exercised by a natural person or a
22 private corporation in connection with similar property and
23 affairs.
24 (q) To acquire, construct, rehabilitate, improve, maintain,
25 lease as lessor or as lessee, repair and operate, port and
26 terminal facilities, as hereinafter defined, within the
27 district, including the dredging of ship channels and turning
28 basins and the filling and grading of land therefor.
29 (r) To provide from time to time for the issuance of its
30 bonds or other obligations for any one or more of its corporate
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1 purposes; all bonds and other obligations hereafter issued by
2 the commission shall have all the qualities and incidents of
3 negotiable instruments.
4 (s) To fix, charge and collect fees, rentals, tolls and
5 other charges for the use of any of its port and terminal
6 facilities so as to provide funds at least sufficient with other
7 funds available for such purposes (1) to pay the cost of
8 maintaining, repairing and operating such port and terminal
9 facilities, including the administrative expenses of the
10 commission chargeable thereto; (2) to pay the bonds or other
11 obligations issued on account of such facilities and the
12 interest thereon as the same become due and payable; and (3) to
13 provide reserves for such purposes, and to pledge such funds
14 over and above such costs of maintenance, repair and operation
15 to the payment of such bonds or other obligations and the
16 interest thereon.
17 (t) To petition the Interstate Commerce Commission, any
18 public service or public utilities commission, or any other
19 federal, state or local authority, whether administrative,
20 judicial or legislative, for the adoption and execution of any
21 physical improvement, change in method, rate of transportation,
22 system of handling freight, warehousing, docking, lightering or
23 transfer of freight, which, in the opinion of the commission,
24 may be designed to improve or facilitate the movement or
25 handling of commerce within the district or improve the terminal
26 or transportation facilities therein.
27 As used in this agreement, the term 'port and terminal
28 facilities' shall mean and shall include, without intending
29 thereby to limit the definition of such term, any one or more of
30 the following or any combination thereof:
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1 (1) Every kind of terminal or storage structure or facility
2 now in use or hereafter designed for use in the handling,
3 storage, loading or unloading of freight or passengers at
4 steamship, railroad or motor terminals or airports, and every
5 kind of transportation facility now in use or hereafter designed
6 for use in connection therewith; and
7 (2) All real and personal property and all works, buildings,
8 structures, equipment, machinery, appliances and appurtenances
9 necessary or convenient for the proper construction, equipment,
10 maintenance and operation of such facility or facilities or any
11 one or more of them.
12 Notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement or any
13 provision of law, state or federal, to the contrary, the
14 commission shall not combine for financing purposes any port and
15 terminal facility or facilities constructed or acquired by it
16 under the provisions of this agreement with any bridge or
17 bridges heretofore or hereafter constructed or acquired by the
18 commission.
19 The powers herein granted to the commission with reference to
20 port and terminal facilities shall supersede the right to
21 exercise any such powers within the district, as defined in
22 paragraph (e) of Article I of this agreement, by any other body
23 which has been heretofore created by compact or agreement
24 between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New
25 Jersey.
26 Nothing contained in any other of the provisions of this
27 compact or agreement shall be deemed or construed to amend,
28 modify or repeal any of the powers, rights or duties conferred
29 by, or limitations or restrictions expressed in, Article X of
30 this compact or agreement, or any of the provisions of said
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1 Article X relating to a bridge to be constructed, operated and
2 maintained by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission or the New
3 Jersey Turnpike Authority acting alone or in conjunction with
4 each other.
5 Notwithstanding the above, each state reserves the right to
6 provide by law for the exercise of a veto power by the Governor
7 of that state over any action of any commissioner from that
8 state at any time within ten days (Saturdays, Sundays and public
9 holidays in the particular state excepted) after receipt at the
10 Governor's office of a certified copy of the minutes of the
11 meeting at which such vote was taken. Each state may provide by
12 law for the manner of delivery of such minutes, and for
13 notification of the action thereon.
14 Section 2. The Governor shall not enter into a supplemental
15 compact or agreement on behalf of the Commonwealth until passage
16 by the State of New Jersey of a substantially similar act,
17 embodying a supplemental compact or agreement between the two
18 states. The Governor shall publish his execution of such
19 supplemental compact or agreement as a notice in the
20 Pennsylvania Bulletin.
21 Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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