PRINTER'S NO. 1659
No. 1393 Session of 1977
INTRODUCED BY TENAGLIO, LYNCH, SPITZ, FREIND, RYAN, GARZIA AND
ZEARFOSS, JUNE 23, 1977
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, JUNE 23, 1977
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 14, 1949 (P.L.482, No.98), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act authorizing and requiring cities,
3 boroughs, townships, municipal authorities and public utility
4 companies engaged in the supplying of water, to shut off the
5 supply of water for nonpayment of sewer, sewerage, or sewage
6 treatment rentals, rates, or charges imposed by municipal
7 authorities organized by counties of the second class, by
8 cities of the second class, by cities of the second class A,
9 by cities of the third class, by boroughs or by townships of
10 the first or second class; authorizing and requiring them to
11 supply to such authorities lists of metered water readings
12 and flat-rate water bills and other data; authorizing them to
13 act as billing and collecting agents for such authorities;
14 and conferring certain powers upon the Pennsylvania Public
15 Utility Commission in connection therewith," including
16 counties of the second class A in provisions relating to
17 collections.
18 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19 hereby enacts as follows:
20 Section 1. Section 1, act of April 14, 1949 (P.L.482,
21 No.98), entitled, as amended, "An act authorizing and requiring
22 cities, boroughs, townships, municipal authorities and public
23 utility companies engaged in the supplying of water, to shut off
24 the supply of water for nonpayment of sewer, sewerage, or sewage
25 treatment rentals, rates, or charges imposed by municipal
1 authorities organized by counties of the second class, by cities
2 of the second class, by cities of the second class A, by cities
3 of the third class, by boroughs or by townships of the first or
4 second class; authorizing and requiring them to supply to such
5 authorities lists of metered water readings and flat-rate water
6 bills and other data; authorizing them to act as billing and
7 collecting agents for such authorities; and conferring certain
8 powers upon the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in
9 connection therewith," reenacted and amended September 7, 1955
10 (P.L.576, No.147) and amended July 20, 1974 (P.L.561, No.191),
11 is amended to read:
12 Section 1. If the owner or occupant of premises served by
13 any water utility, as hereinafter defined, shall neglect or fail
14 to pay, for a period of thirty (30) days from the due date
15 thereof, any rental, rate or charge for sewer, sewerage, or
16 sewage treatment service imposed by any municipal authority
17 organized by any county of the second class, by any county of
18 the second class A, by any city of the second class, by any city
19 of the second class A, by any city of the third class, by any
20 borough or by any township of the first or second class, such
21 water utility is hereby authorized and required, at the request
22 and direction of such authority, or of the city, borough, or
23 township to which the authority shall have assigned its claim or
24 lien for such service, to shut off the supply of water to such
25 premises until all such overdue rentals, rates and charges,
26 together with any penalties and interest thereon, shall be paid.
27 If such authority or such city, borough, or township shall also
28 supply water to any premises, it is hereby authorized to shut
29 off the supply of water to such premises, as herein set forth.
30 If the rental rate or charge for sewer, sewerage or sewage
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1 treatment service is imposed by a municipality as lessee of an
2 authority organized as aforesaid and the said lessee shall also
3 supply water to such premises, then such municipality is hereby
4 authorized to shut off the supply of water to such premises as
5 herein set forth without prior request from said authority or
6 without prior assignment of its claim or lien for such services.
7 In no case shall the water supply be shut off to any premises
8 until ten days after written notice of an intention so to do has
9 been mailed to the person liable for payment of the rentals and
10 charges, and in addition thereto, there has been posted a
11 written notice at a main entrance to the premises. If during
12 such ten day period, the person liable for the payment of the
13 rentals and charges delivers to the water utility authority or
14 municipality supplying water to the premises a written
15 statement, under oath or affirmation, stating that he has a just
16 defense to the claim, or part of it, for such rentals or
17 charges, then the water supply shall not be shut off until claim
18 has been judicially determined. The statement shall also contain
19 a declaration under oath or affirmation that it was not executed
20 for the purpose of delay.
21 Nothing contained in this section shall authorize any
22 authority or any privately owned sewer or water company to shut
23 off or deny water service to any lessee of a property because a
24 previous lessee failed to pay either the water or sewer service
25 rate, rental or charge.
26 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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