PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 259, 2335 PRINTER'S NO. 2501
No. 226 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY DAWIDA, POTT, PRESTON, MARMION, ITKIN, COWELL, DUFFY, GAMBLE, VAN HORNE, OLASZ, MICHLOVIC, MRKONIC, PETRONE, TRELLO AND PISTELLA, FEBRUARY 15, 1983
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY 8, 1984
AN ACT 1 Amending the act of August 24, 1951 (P.L.1304, No.315), 2 entitled, as amended, "An act to improve local health 3 administration throughout the Commonwealth by authorizing the 4 creation, establishment and administration of single-county 5 or joint-county departments of health in all counties; 6 exempting certain municipalities from the jurisdiction of 7 single-county or joint-county departments of health; 8 permitting the dissolution of departments or boards of health 9 in certain municipalities; authorizing State grants to 10 counties which establish departments of health and to certain 11 municipalities if they meet prescribed requirements; 12 conferring powers and duties upon the State Department of 13 Health in connection with the creation, establishment and 14 administration of single-county or joint-county departments 15 of health and administration of the health laws in parts of 16 certain municipalities not subject to the jurisdiction of 17 single-county or joint-county departments of health, and the 18 administration of State grants; and repealing an act which 19 confers health powers upon counties of the first class," 20 further providing for State grants to county departments of 21 health and to certain municipalities. 22 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 23 hereby enacts as follows: 24 Section 1. Section 25 of the act of August 24, 1951 25 (P.L.1304, No.315), known as the Local Health Administration 26 Law, amended July 9, 1976 (P.L.533, No.129) and subsection (d)
1 added February 26, 1976 (P.L.26, No.12), is amended to read: 2 Section 25. State Grants to County Departments of Health and 3 to Certain Municipalities.--County departments of health created 4 under this act and municipalities eligible for State grants 5 under the provisions of section 15 of this act shall receive 6 State grants in accordance with the procedure outlined in 7 subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this section. [, if sufficient 8 funds have been appropriated to pay the full amount of the 9 grants to which county departments of health and certain 10 municipalities may be entitled under subsections (a), (b) and 11 (c) of this section. 12 In the event that sufficient funds to pay the full amount of 13 the grants to which county departments of health and certain 14 municipalities may be entitled under subsections (a), (b) and 15 (c) of this section have not been appropriated, the State 16 Secretary of Health, with the advice of the Advisory Health 17 Board, shall distribute such funds as are available among county 18 departments of health and municipalities eligible for State 19 grants under section 15 of this act on an equitable basis, 20 without reference to the procedure outlined in subsections (a), 21 (b) and (c) of this section; except that no county department of 22 health or municipality shall receive a grant which exceeds three 23 dollars ($3.00) per year for every person within the 24 jurisdiction of the county department of health or the 25 department or board of health of the municipality.] 26 This section shall not be construed to preclude the State 27 Department of Health from making special grants to county 28 departments of health or to municipalities for emergencies or 29 for other special purposes. immediately. 30 SPECIAL GRANTS MAY INCLUDE SUFFICIENT AMOUNTS TO COUNTY <-- 19830H0226B2501 - 2 -
1 DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH TO INSURE THE SOLVENCY OF ESCROW ACCOUNTS 2 MAINTAINED AND REQUIRED PURSUANT TO THE ACT OF JANUARY 24, 1966 3 (1965 P.L.1534, NO.536), REFERRED TO AS THE CITY RENT 4 WITHHOLDING ACT, FOR RENT WITHHELD FOR DWELLINGS CERTIFIED AS 5 UNFIT FOR HUMAN HABITATION. WHENEVER A COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF 6 HEALTH DETERMINES THAT A DWELLING IS UNINHABITABLE AND RENT 7 PAYMENTS ARE ORDERED PAID INTO AN ESCROW ACCOUNT IT SHALL BE THE 8 DUTY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO MONITOR THE ACCOUNT TO 9 DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT PAYMENTS ARE BEING DEPOSITED. IF 10 INADEQUATE PAYMENTS ARE BEING MADE THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOTIFY 11 THE LANDLORD OF THAT EVENT AND THE TENANT SHALL COMPLETE THE 12 PAYMENTS OR BE HELD IN DEFAULT AND BE SUBJECT TO EVICTION. IF 13 THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH DOES NOT NOTIFY THE LANDLORD OF 14 INADEQUATE PAYMENT INTO THE ESCROW ACCOUNT IT SHALL BE 15 RESPONSIBLE TO THE LANDLORD FOR RENTS DUE. 16 (a) Initial Grants. Every county department of health 17 created under this act shall receive an initial grant as 18 provided in this section [if sufficient funds have been 19 appropriated to pay the full amount of such grant]. 20 The county commissioners or, in the case of a joint-county 21 department of health the joint-county health commission, shall 22 submit to the State Secretary of Health, on forms prescribed by 23 him, an initial estimate of expenditures to cover the operation 24 of the county department of health from the date of its 25 establishment to the end of the calendar year in which it is 26 established. The initial estimate of expenditures shall state 27 the names of the exempt municipalities which have not decided to 28 become subject to the jurisdiction of the county department of 29 health in accordance with section 15 of this act. The estimate 30 shall be submitted within thirty (30) days prior to the date of 19830H0226B2501 - 3 -
1 establishment. 2 The State Secretary of Health shall examine each initial 3 estimate of expenditures and shall deduct therefrom all items 4 which do not represent expenditures within the lawful scope of 5 the powers of the particular county department of health. Upon 6 the total amount of the remaining expenditures, the State 7 Secretary of Health shall compute the initial grant. 8 The initial grant shall equal fifty per cent (50%) of the 9 total of the remaining expenditures, but no initial grant shall 10 exceed the product obtained by multiplying the population of the 11 area within the jurisdiction of the county department of health 12 times the number of months covered by the initial estimate of 13 expenditures times [twenty-five cents (25¢)] thirty-seven and 14 one-half cents (37 1/2¢). For the purpose of computation, any 15 fraction of a month shall be counted as one month. 16 Thirty (30) days after he has received the initial estimate 17 of expenditures, the State Secretary of Health shall draw a 18 requisition upon the State Auditor General in favor of the 19 particular county department of health for the amount of the 20 initial grant. 21 In the event that a municipality or part of a municipality 22 becomes subject to the jurisdiction of a county department of 23 health in accordance with section 15 of this act after the date 24 of establishment but prior to the first day of October of the 25 same year, the county commissioners or, in the case of a joint- 26 county department of health the joint-county health commission, 27 may submit to the State Secretary of Health, on forms prescribed 28 by him, an estimate of additional expenditures to cover the 29 operation of the county department of health for the balance of 30 the calendar year. The estimate shall state the name of the 19830H0226B2501 - 4 -
1 municipality and the date on which it became subject to the
2 jurisdiction of the county department of health. The State
3 Secretary of Health shall examine the estimate of additional
4 expenditures and shall deduct therefrom all items which do not
5 represent expenditures within the lawful scope of the powers of
6 the particular county department of health. Upon the total
7 amount of the remaining expenditures, the State Secretary of
8 Health shall compute the additional grant. The additional grant
9 shall equal fifty percent (50%) of the total of the remaining
10 expenditures, but no additional grant shall exceed the product
11 obtained by multiplying the population of the municipality or
12 the part of a municipality times the number of months remaining
13 in the calendar year from the date the municipality or the part
14 of a municipality became subject to the jurisdiction of the
15 county department of health times [twenty-five cents (25¢)]
16 thirty-seven and one-half cents (37 1/2¢). For the purpose of
17 computation, any fraction of a month shall be counted as one
18 month.
19 Fifteen (15) days after he has received the estimate of
20 additional expenditures, the State Secretary of Health shall
21 draw a requisition upon the State Auditor General in favor of
22 the particular county department of health for the amount of the
23 additional grant.
24 (b) Annual Grants. Every county department of health created
25 under this act and every municipality eligible for State grants
26 under section 15 of this act shall receive annual grants from
27 the State as provided in this section[, if sufficient funds have
28 been appropriated to pay the full amount of such grants]. No
29 county department of health shall begin to receive annual grants
30 until the calendar year following the one in which it was
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1 established. No municipality shall begin to receive annual 2 grants until the calendar year following the one in which this 3 act takes effect. 4 After the beginning of each calendar year, the county 5 commissioners or, in the case of a joint-county department of 6 health the joint-county health commission, or the executive or 7 executive body of any municipality eligible for State grants 8 under section 15 of this act, shall submit to the State 9 Secretary of Health, at such time as he shall require and on 10 forms prescribed by him, an annual estimate of expenditures of 11 the county department of health or the department or board of 12 health of the municipality. In the case of a county department 13 of health, the annual estimate of expenditures shall state the 14 names of the exempt municipalities which have not decided to 15 become subject to its jurisdiction in accordance with section 15 16 of this act. 17 The State Secretary of Health shall examine each annual 18 estimate of expenditures and shall deduct therefrom all items 19 which do not represent expenditures within the lawful scope of 20 the powers of the particular county department of health or the 21 department or board of health of the municipality. Upon the 22 total amount of the remaining expenditures, the State Secretary 23 of Health shall compute the annual grant. The annual grant shall 24 equal fifty per cent (50%) of the total of the remaining 25 expenditures, but no annual grant shall exceed the product 26 obtained by multiplying the population of the area within the 27 jurisdiction of the county department of health or within the 28 jurisdiction of the department or board of health of the 29 municipality times [three dollars ($3.00)] four dollars fifty 30 cents ($4.50). 19830H0226B2501 - 6 -
1 The annual grant shall be paid in four quarterly 2 installments, but the moneys received in any quarter may be used 3 any time during the year. 4 The first installment shall be for the quarter beginning 5 January first and ending March thirty-first; the second 6 installment shall be for the quarter beginning April first and 7 ending June thirtieth; the third installment shall be for the 8 quarter beginning July first and ending September thirtieth; and 9 the fourth installment shall be for the quarter beginning 10 October first and ending December thirty-first. Each installment 11 shall be paid only if it is approved by the State Secretary of 12 Health. The State Secretary of Health shall approve the payment 13 of any quarterly installment of an annual grant to a county 14 department of health or to a municipality eligible under section 15 15 of this act only if he finds: 16 (1) that such county department of health or municipality is 17 complying with any and all regulations of the State Department 18 of Health prescribing minimum public health activities, minimum 19 standards of performance of health services, and standards of 20 personnel administration on a merit basis; and 21 (2) that such county department of health or municipality is 22 accomplishing the purposes described in section 2 of this act. 23 If the State Secretary of Health approves the payment of the 24 first quarterly installment of an annual grant to a county 25 department of health or to a municipality eligible under section 26 15 of this act, he shall draw a requisition for such installment 27 upon the State Auditor General in favor of the county department 28 of health or municipality within fifteen (15) days after he has 29 received the annual estimate of expenditures. If the State 30 Secretary of Health approves the payment of any subsequent 19830H0226B2501 - 7 -
1 quarterly installment of an annual grant to a county department 2 of health or to a municipality eligible under section 15 of this 3 act, he shall draw a requisition for such installment upon the 4 State Auditor General in favor of the county department of 5 health or municipality at least fifteen (15) days before the 6 first day of the quarter for which the payment is to be made. 7 In the event that a municipality or part of a municipality 8 becomes subject to the jurisdiction of a county department of 9 health in accordance with section 15 of this act prior to the 10 first day of September, the county commissioners or, in the case 11 of a joint-county department of health the joint-county health 12 commission, may submit to the State Secretary of Health, on 13 forms prescribed by him, an estimate of additional expenditures 14 to cover the operation of the county department of health for 15 the balance of the calendar year. The estimate shall state the 16 name of the municipality and the date on which it became subject 17 to the jurisdiction of the county department of health. The 18 estimate shall be submitted at least thirty (30) days before the 19 first day of any quarter following the one in which the 20 municipality or the part of a municipality became subject to the 21 jurisdiction of the county department of health. 22 The State Secretary of Health shall examine the estimate of 23 additional expenditures and shall deduct therefrom all items 24 which do not represent expenditures within the lawful scope of 25 the powers of the particular county department of health. Upon 26 the total amount of the remaining expenditures, the State 27 Secretary of Health shall compute the additional grant. The 28 additional grant shall equal fifty percent (50%) of the 29 remaining expenditures, but no additional grant shall exceed the 30 product obtained by multiplying the population of the 19830H0226B2501 - 8 -
1 municipality or the part of a municipality times the number of
2 months remaining in the calendar year from the date the
3 municipality or the part of a municipality became subject to the
4 jurisdiction of the county department of health times [twenty-
5 five cents (25¢)] thirty-seven and one-half cents (37 1/2¢). For
6 the purpose of computation, any fraction of a month shall be
7 counted as one month. The additional grant shall be added to and
8 become part of the balance of the annual grant remaining to be
9 paid.
10 (c) Adjustment of Initial and Annual Grants. After the end
11 of every calendar year in which a county department of health or
12 a municipality received an initial grant or all or part of an
13 annual grant, there shall be an adjustment of such initial or
14 annual grant on the basis of the actual expenditures of the
15 county department of health or the department or board of health
16 of the municipality during the year. Any additional grants to
17 which a county department of health or a municipality may be
18 entitled under the provisions of this subsection shall be paid[,
19 if sufficient funds have been appropriated to pay the full
20 amount of such grants]. Within fifteen (15) days after the end
21 of the calendar year, the county commissioners or, in the case
22 of a joint-county department of health the joint-county health
23 commission, or the executive or executive body of the
24 municipality, shall submit to the State Secretary of Health, on
25 forms prescribed by him, a sworn, itemized statement of all the
26 expenditures made by the county department of health or the
27 department or board of health of the municipality during the
28 previous year. The statement shall show the dates on which the
29 expenditures were made and shall indicate which of the
30 expenditures were made out of any special grants received from
19830H0226B2501 - 9 -
1 the State or out of any grants received directly from the 2 Federal Government. In the case of a county department of 3 health, the statement shall indicate the name of any 4 municipality which became subject to its jurisdiction in 5 accordance with section 15 of this act and the date on which the 6 municipality became subject to its jurisdiction. 7 The State Secretary of Health shall examine each statement 8 and shall deduct therefrom all the expenditures made during any 9 quarter or quarters of the calendar year for which no 10 installments of an annual grant were paid to the county 11 department of health or municipality because of its failure to 12 comply with the requirements of subsection (b) of this section. 13 He shall then deduct from the remaining expenditures: (1) those 14 items paid for out of any special grants received from the 15 State; (2) those items paid for out of any grants received 16 directly from the Federal Government; and (3) those items which 17 do not represent expenditures made within the lawful scope of 18 the powers of the county department of health or the department 19 or board of health of the municipality. Upon the total amount of 20 the remaining expenditures, the State Secretary of Health shall 21 compute the adjusted initial or annual grant. 22 The adjusted initial grant shall equal either (1) fifty per 23 cent (50%) of the total of the remaining expenditures, or (2) 24 the product obtained by multiplying the population of the area 25 within the jurisdiction of the county department of health at 26 the time of its establishment times the number of months for 27 which the initial grant was paid as determined in subsection (a) 28 of this section times [twenty-five cents (25¢)] thirty-seven and 29 one-half cents (37 1/2¢), whichever figure is the lower. In the 30 event that a municipality or part of a municipality became 19830H0226B2501 - 10 -
1 subject to the jurisdiction of the county department of health 2 during the year in accordance with section 15 of this act, there 3 shall be added to the amount arrived at by applying the formula 4 set out in clause (2) of this paragraph the product obtained by 5 multiplying the population of the municipality or the part of a 6 municipality times the number of months it was subject to the 7 jurisdiction of the county department of health times [twenty- 8 five cents (25¢)] thirty-seven and one-half cents (37 1/2¢). For 9 the purpose of computation, any fraction of a month shall be 10 counted as one month. 11 In the case of a county department of health, the adjusted 12 annual grant shall equal either (1) fifty per cent (50%) of the 13 total of the remaining expenditures, or (2) the product obtained 14 by multiplying the population of the area within the 15 jurisdiction of the county department of health at the beginning 16 of the calendar year times the number of quarters for which 17 installments of the annual grant were paid times [seventy-five 18 cents (75¢)] one dollar and twelve and one-half cents ($1.12 19 1/2), whichever figure is the lower. In the event that a 20 municipality or part of a municipality became subject to the 21 jurisdiction of the county department of health during the year 22 in accordance with section 15 of this act, there shall be added 23 to the amount arrived at by applying the formula set out in 24 clause (2) of this paragraph the product obtained by multiplying 25 the population of the municipality or the part of a municipality 26 times the number of months during which it was subject to the 27 jurisdiction of the county department of health times [twenty- 28 five cents (25¢)] thirty-seven and one-half cents (37 1/2¢); 29 except that any month which fell in a quarter for which no 30 installment of the annual grant was paid to the county 19830H0226B2501 - 11 -
1 department of health shall not be counted. For the purpose of
2 computation any fraction of a month shall be counted as one
3 month.
4 In the case of a municipality, the adjusted annual grant
5 shall equal either (1) fifty percent (50%) of the total of the
6 remaining expenditures, or (2) the product obtained by
7 multiplying the population of the area within the jurisdiction
8 of the department or board of health of the municipality times
9 the number of months during which it was not subject to the
10 jurisdiction of a county department of health times [twenty-five
11 cents (25¢)] thirty-seven and one-half cents (37 1/2¢),
12 whichever figure is the lower. In applying the formula set out
13 in clause (2) of this paragraph, any month which fell in a
14 quarter for which no installment of the annual grant was paid to
15 the municipality shall not be counted. For the purpose of
16 computation any fraction of a month shall be counted as one
17 month.
18 If the adjusted initial or annual grant exceeds the initial
19 or annual grant actually received by a county department of
20 health or a municipality, the State Secretary of Health shall,
21 within fifteen (15) days after receipt of the statement of
22 expenditures, draw a requisition upon the State Auditor General
23 in favor of such county department of health or municipality for
24 the amount by which the adjusted initial or annual grant exceeds
25 the initial or annual grant actually received.
26 If the adjusted initial or annual grant is less than the
27 initial or annual grant actually received by a county department
28 of health or a municipality, the State Secretary of Health shall
29 charge the amount by which the initial or annual grant actually
30 received exceeds the adjusted initial or annual grant against
19830H0226B2501 - 12 -
1 one or more installments of the next annual grant. If any 2 subsequent installment of the annual grant is not paid to the 3 particular county department of health or municipality because 4 of the failure of the county department of health or 5 municipality to comply with the requirements of subsection (b) 6 of this section, or because the municipality has decided to 7 become subject to the jurisdiction of a county department of 8 health in accordance with section 15 of this act, the State 9 Secretary of Health may require a refund of such amount to the 10 State. 11 (d) Environmental Health Services.--The Commonwealth shall 12 pay an additional annual grant of [not more than] seventy-five 13 cents (75¢) per capita resident to each county department of 14 health or department or board of health of a municipality 15 eligible for grants under this act for environmental health 16 services provided by the county or municipality. 17 As used in this subsection "environmental health services" 18 means services such as but not limited to air and noise 19 pollution control, restaurant and wholesale food inspection, 20 rodent and vector control, water and sewage inspection, housing 21 code enforcement and other similar services in addition to other 22 local health grants for public health services. 23 Section 2. The provisions of this act shall be retroactive 24 to July 1, 1983. 25 Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately. A21L35WMB/19830H0226B2501 - 13 -