PRINTER'S NO. 1308
No. 1106 Session of 1977
INTRODUCED BY COPPERSMITH, MURRAY, STAPLETON, NOLAN, JUBELIRER
AND DUFFIELD, SEPTEMBER 27, 1977
REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, SEPTEMBER 27, 1977
AN ACT
1 Providing for grants to persons for property damaged or
2 destroyed by flood, establishing the basis for the grants,
3 and making an appropriation.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. (a) Upon receipt and approval of a sworn
7 application by an owner of a home for nonbusiness or nonfarm
8 personal property damaged or destroyed by the floods of July
9 1977, the Office of the Governor may make a grant to cover a
10 portion of the adjusted loss.
11 (b) Total loss shall be computed in accordance with
12 standards applied by the United States Government pursuant to
13 the Civil Disaster Relief Act of 1970 and United States Public
14 Law 92-385 for persons whose property was damaged by the floods
15 of September 1971 and June 1972. The total loss shall not
16 include any preflood indebtedness, business or farm losses, nor
17 any loss covered by insurance. The adjusted loss of the
18 applicant shall be the total loss less the amount received by
1 the applicant from the Department of Public Welfare pursuant to
2 the provisions of section 408 of the Federal Disaster Relief Act
3 of 1974.
4 (c) The amount of the grant shall be determined in
5 accordance with the following provisions:
6 (1) For the first $5,000 of the adjusted loss, the grant
7 shall be 30% thereof.
8 (2) For the second $5,000 of the adjusted loss, the
9 grant shall be 20% thereof.
10 (3) For the third $5,000 of the adjusted loss, the grant
11 shall be 10% thereof.
12 (4) For the balance of the adjusted loss the grant shall
13 be 5% thereof, but the total grant shall not exceed $4,000.
14 Section 2. If real property was condemned under eminent
15 domain proceedings and where measure of damage is calculated
16 under section 602 of the act of June 22, 1964 (P.L.84, No.6),
17 known as the "Eminent Domain Code," said owner shall not be
18 eligible for the grant provided in section 1.
19 Section 3. All grants under this act shall be administered
20 by the Department of Community Affairs and all applications for
21 grants shall be submitted to that department within 120 days
22 after the effective date of this act. If sufficient funds are
23 not allocated herein, distribution of grants shall be on a
24 prorata basis.
25 Section 4. A sum not to exceed $10,000,000 may be allocated
26 by the Governor for the purpose of administering and
27 implementing this act from funds made available to the Governor
28 for providing disaster relief and assistance for victims of the
29 Great Flood of July 1977 by the act of August 20, 1977 (No.11-
30 A), known as the "General Appropriation Act of 1977."
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1 Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10 of the "General
2 Appropriation Act of 1977," no funds appropriated to the
3 Governor for allocation by the Governor for providing disaster
4 relief and assistance for victims of the great flood of July
5 1977 shall lapse prior to July 1, 1979.
6 Section 5. Any person making a false claim under the
7 provisions of this act shall be subject to a penalty in the
8 amount of three times the amount of the grant with interest at
9 the rate of 6% from the date of the grant. Such a penalty may be
10 enforced by the Commonwealth in an assumpsit action and
11 collected in the manner that other debts due and owing the
12 Commonwealth are collected.
13 Section 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
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