PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 730, 1202, 1446, PRINTER'S NO. 2339
1990, 2265
No. 642 Session of 1985
Report of the Committee of Conference
To the Members of the Senate and House of Representatives:
We, the undersigned, Committee of Conference on the part of
the Senate and House of Representatives for the purpose of
considering Senate Bill No. 642, entitled:
"An act providing for a community services block grant program;
and further providing for powers and duties of the Department of
Community Affairs.
AMENDING THE ACT OF MARCH 28, 1986 (P.L.75, NO.25), ENTITLED 'AN
ACT PROVIDING FOR GRANTS TO PERSONS FOR PROPERTY DAMAGED OR
DESTROYED BY TORNADO OR FLOOD; * * *,' * * * AND MAKING AN
APPROPRIATION APPROPRIATIONS TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE
PENNSYLVANIA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY FOR DISASTER RELIEF AND
FOR ALLOCATIONS TO VARIOUS MUNICIPALITIES IN WESTMORELAND,
SOMERSET AND FAYETTE COUNTIES FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR FLOOD
DAMAGES,"
respectfully submit the following bill as our report:
RICHARD A. TILGHMAN
JOHN STAUFFER
H. CRAIG LEWIS
(Committee on the part of the Senate.)
WILLIAM R. LLOYD, JR.
RICHARD J. CESSAR
(Committee on the part of the House of Representatives.)
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 28, 1986 (P.L.75, No.25), entitled "An
2 act providing for grants to persons for property damaged or
3 destroyed by tornado or flood; establishing the basis for the
4 grants; and making an appropriation," extending the
5 provisions of this act to certain disasters occurring in
6 calendar years 1984 and 1986; providing a moratorium on
7 certain assessments; and making appropriations to the
8 Governor and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for
9 disaster relief and for allocations to various municipalities
10 in Westmoreland, Somerset and Fayette Counties for
11 reimbursement for flood damages.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. The title and sections 1, 2 and 3 of the act of
15 March 28, 1986 (P.L.75, No.25), entitled "An act providing for
16 grants to persons for property damaged or destroyed by tornado
17 or flood; establishing the basis for the grants; and making an
18 appropriation," item vetoed in part, are amended to read:
19 AN ACT
20 Providing for grants to persons for property damaged or
21 destroyed by tornado or flood; establishing the basis for the
22 grants and tax moratoria; and making [an appropriation]
23 appropriations.
24 Section 1. [Power to administer emergency funds to disaster-
25 stricken counties.
26 (a) The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that:
27 (1) During 1985, tornadoes and flooding occurred in
28 several counties of this Commonwealth, causing substantial
29 damages, in excess of $60,000,000, to private homes, in
30 addition to the damage to businesses, industry and public
31 facilities.
32 (2) Federal emergency declarations designated certain
33 areas as eligible for emergency relief.
1 (3) The combination of private insurance and Federal
2 grants and loans for private homeowners provides insufficient
3 compensation for their losses.
4 (4) Because many of the victims of these disasters
5 reside in areas which prior to the disaster were economically
6 distressed, and because their losses are inadequately
7 covered, it is in the public interest pursuant to section 17
8 of Article VIII of the Constitution of Pennsylvania to
9 provide additional aid to private homeowners to supplement
10 the compensation which they receive from private insurance
11 and the Federal Government.
12 (b) An applicant's request for funding shall be subject to
13 the following evaluation:
14 (1) Upon receipt and approval of a sworn application by
15 any homeowner for nonbusiness or nonfarm real or personal
16 property damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster during
17 1985, the Department of Public Welfare may make an individual
18 homeowner grant to cover a portion of the adjusted loss.
19 (2) The adjusted loss shall be the total eligible loss
20 minus any amount received by or due the applicant from
21 private insurance and Federal or State grants and shall not
22 include any insurance deductible paid by the homeowner.
23 (3) Total eligible loss shall be any loss from damage to
24 an owner-occupied primary residence, and any loss from damage
25 to personal property, including clothing, household
26 furnishings and appliances. Eligible loss shall not include
27 any item used principally for recreational purposes.
28 (4) Homeowners whose household 1985 income does not
29 exceed 300% of the 1985 poverty income guidelines shall be
30 eligible to participate in this grant program. The homeowner,
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1 in order to be eligible for this program, must have
2 registered at a disaster assistance center, unless
3 extenuating circumstances prevented him or her from doing so.
4 Extenuating circumstances shall be determined on an
5 individual basis.
6 (5) The amount of the grant shall be determined in
7 accordance with the following schedule:
8 (i) 75% of the first $5,000 of adjusted loss.
9 (ii) 50% of the second $5,000 of adjusted loss.
10 (iii) 10% of the remaining adjusted loss.
11 (iv) No grant shall exceed $12,500.
12 (c) If the real property was condemned under eminent domain
13 proceedings and where the measure of damage is calculated under
14 section 602 of the act of June 22, 1964 (Sp.Sess., P.L.84,
15 No.6), known as the Eminent Domain Code, the property owner
16 shall not be eligible for a grant under subsection (b) for
17 property for which compensation is granted in the eminent domain
18 proceedings.
19 (d) The Department of Public Welfare shall administer the
20 program in the following manner:
21 (1) All grants under this act shall be administered by
22 the Department of Public Welfare in prompt fashion.
23 (2) Applications shall be available to disaster victims
24 within 60 days of the effective date of this act.
25 (3) If sufficient funds are not allocated under this
26 act, distribution of the grants shall be on a pro rata basis.
27 (4) The Department of Public Welfare may promulgate
28 rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions
29 of this act.
30 (e) The sum of $15,000,000, or as much thereof as may be
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1 necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of Public
2 Welfare for the purposes of this act. Notwithstanding the
3 provisions of any other act to the contrary, the funds hereby
4 appropriated shall not lapse until June 30, 1987.
5 (f) A person making a false claim under the provisions of
6 this act shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of three
7 times the amount of the grant with interest of 6% from the date
8 of the grant. This penalty may be enforced by the Commonwealth
9 in an assumpsit action and collected in the manner that other
10 debts due and owing the Commonwealth are collected.
11 Section 2. Rules and regulations.
12 In order to facilitate the speedy implementation of the
13 program, the Department of Public Welfare shall have the power
14 and authority to promulgate and adopt and use regulations that
15 shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The regulations
16 shall not be subject to review pursuant to the act of June 25,
17 1982 (P.L.633, No.181), known as the Regulatory Review Act.
18 Section 3. Effective date.
19 This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply
20 retroactively to all disasters for which the Presidential
21 Declaration was issued in calendar year 1985.]
22 Legislative intent.
23 The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that:
24 (1) During August 1984, during 1985 and during 1986,
25 tornadoes and flooding occurred in several counties of this
26 Commonwealth, causing substantial damages, in excess of
27 $60,000,000, to private homes, in addition to the damage to
28 businesses, industry and public facilities.
29 (2) Federal emergency declarations designated certain
30 areas as eligible for emergency relief.
19850S0642B2339 - 4 -
1 (3) The combination of private insurance and Federal
2 grants and loans for private homeowners and persons renting
3 the homes in which they reside provides insufficient
4 compensation for their losses.
5 (4) Because many of the victims of these disasters
6 reside in areas which prior to the disaster were economically
7 distressed, and because their losses are inadequately
8 covered, it is in the public interest pursuant to section 17
9 of Article VIII of the Constitution of Pennsylvania to
10 provide additional aid to private homeowners and persons
11 renting the homes in which they reside to supplement the
12 compensation which they receive from private insurance and
13 the Federal Government.
14 Section 2. Emergency funds to disaster-stricken counties.
15 (a) Program.--The Department of Public Welfare shall
16 administer a program which provides emergency funds to residents
17 of counties stricken by the disastrous floods and tornadoes of
18 1984, 1985 and 1986 which were the subject of Federal emergency
19 declarations.
20 (b) Eligibility.--An applicant's request for funding shall
21 be subject to the following evaluation:
22 (1) Upon receipt and approval of a sworn application by
23 any homeowner for nonbusiness or nonfarm real property
24 damaged or destroyed, or any homeowner or tenant of premises
25 he rents as his primary residence for personal property
26 damaged or destroyed, in a declared disaster during 1984,
27 1985 or 1986, the Department of Public Welfare may make an
28 individual grant to cover a portion of the adjusted loss.
29 (2) The adjusted loss shall be the total eligible loss
30 minus any amount received by or due the applicant from
19850S0642B2339 - 5 -
1 private insurance and Federal or State grants and shall not
2 include any insurance deductible paid by the applicant.
3 (3) Total eligible loss shall be any loss from damage to
4 an owner-occupied primary residence, and any loss from damage
5 to personal property, including clothing, household
6 furnishings and appliances incurred by a homeowner in his
7 owner-occupied primary residence or incurred by a tenant in
8 premises he rents as a primary residence. Eligible loss shall
9 not include any item used principally for recreational
10 purposes.
11 (4) Applicants whose household 1985 income does not
12 exceed 300% of the 1985 poverty income guidelines shall be
13 eligible to participate in this grant program. The applicant,
14 in order to be eligible for this program by reason of a loss
15 in a declared disaster during 1984, 1985 or 1986, must have
16 registered at a disaster assistance center, unless
17 extenuating circumstances prevented him or her from doing so.
18 Extenuating circumstances shall be determined on an
19 individual basis.
20 (5) The amount of the grant shall be determined in
21 accordance with the following schedule:
22 (i) 75% of the first $5,000 of adjusted loss.
23 (ii) 50% of the second $5,000 of adjusted loss.
24 (iii) 10% of the remaining adjusted loss.
25 (iv) No grant shall exceed $12,500.
26 (c) Limitation on eligibility.--If the real property was
27 condemned under eminent domain proceedings and where the measure
28 of damage is calculated under section 602 of the act of June 22,
29 1964 (Sp.Sess., P.L.84, No.6), known as the Eminent Domain Code,
30 the property owner shall not be eligible for a grant under
19850S0642B2339 - 6 -
1 subsection (b) for property for which compensation is granted in
2 the eminent domain proceedings.
3 (d) Administration.--The Department of Public Welfare shall
4 administer the program in the following manner:
5 (1) All grants under this act shall be administered by
6 the Department of Public Welfare in prompt fashion.
7 (2) Applications shall be available to disaster victims
8 within 60 days of the effective date of this act.
9 (3) If sufficient funds are not allocated under this
10 act, distribution of the grants shall be on a pro rata basis.
11 (e) Rules and regulations.--In order to facilitate the
12 speedy implementation of the program, the Department of Public
13 Welfare shall have the power and authority to promulgate and
14 adopt and use regulations that shall be published in the
15 Pennsylvania Bulletin. The regulations shall not be subject to
16 review pursuant to the act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181),
17 known as the Regulatory Review Act.
18 (f) Penalty.--A person making a false claim under the
19 provisions of this act shall be subject to a penalty in the
20 amount of three times the amount of the grant with interest of
21 6% from the date of the grant. This penalty may be enforced by
22 the Commonwealth in an assumpsit action and collected in the
23 manner that other debts due and owing the Commonwealth are
24 collected.
25 (g) Appropriation.--The sum of $15,000,000, or as much
26 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the
27 Department of Public Welfare for the purposes of this act.
28 Notwithstanding the provisions of any other act to the contrary,
29 the funds hereby appropriated shall not lapse: Provided,
30 however, That any of the funds remaining unexpended or
19850S0642B2339 - 7 -
1 uncommitted after July 1, 1987, shall be used and are hereby
2 appropriated for use by the Department of Public Welfare to
3 reimburse municipalities for documented municipal expenditures
4 incurred as a result of a declared disaster in 1984, 1985 or
5 1986 which were not reimbursed by the Federal or State
6 government. If insufficient funds remain to reimburse such
7 municipalities in full, reimbursement shall be made on a pro
8 rata basis.
9 Section 3. Tax moratorium.
10 (a) Exemption for reconstruction and repairs.--Local taxing
11 authorities may, by ordinance or resolution, exempt from real
12 property taxation the assessed valuation of reconstruction or
13 repairs made to properties damaged or destroyed as the result of
14 a natural disaster which was within any geographic area subject
15 to a Federal emergency declaration as provided herein. The
16 exemption shall be limited to the additional assessment
17 valuation attributable to the actual costs of reconstruction or
18 repairs on the damaged or destroyed property.
19 (b) Exemption schedule.--For the first year for which such
20 reconstruction or repairs would otherwise be taxable, 100% of
21 the eligible assessment shall be exempted; for the second year,
22 50% of the eligible assessment shall be exempted and for the
23 third year, 25% of the eligible assessment shall be exempted.
24 After the third year, the exemption shall terminate. No property
25 shall be eligible for tax exemption under this section unless
26 reconstruction or repairs are begun within five years of the
27 date of the applicable Federal emergency declaration.
28 (c) Right to appeal.--Notwithstanding any other law to the
29 contrary, persons who have suffered catastrophic losses to their
30 property due to the disaster emergencies covered by this act
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1 shall have the right to appeal before the county commissioners,
2 acting as a board of revision of taxes, or the board for the
3 assessment and revision of taxes within the remainder of the
4 county fiscal year in which the catastrophic loss occurred, or
5 within three months of the effective date of this act, whichever
6 time period is longer. The duty of the county commissioners,
7 acting as a board of revision of taxes, or the board for the
8 assessment and revision of taxes shall be to reassess the value
9 of the property in the following manner: the value of the
10 property before the catastrophic loss, based on the percentage
11 of the taxable year for which the property stood at its former
12 value, shall be added to the value of the property after the
13 catastrophic loss, based on the percentage of the remainder of
14 the taxable year. Any property improvements made subsequent to
15 the catastrophic loss in the same tax year shall not be included
16 in the reassessment described in this subsection for that tax
17 year. Any adjustments in the tax required pursuant to this
18 subsection which cannot take effect for the tax year in which
19 the loss occurs shall be reflected by the appropriate taxing
20 authorities in the form of a credit for the first succeeding tax
21 year in which such credit can be effectuated. As used in this
22 section, "catastrophic loss" means any loss due to natural
23 disaster covered by this act which affects the physical state of
24 the real property and which exceeds 40% of the market value of
25 the real property prior to the loss.
26 (d) Termination upon transfer.--The exemption from taxation
27 authorized by this section shall terminate upon the sale or
28 exchange of the property.
29 (e) Notice.--Local taxing authorities shall publish notice
30 of property owners' rights to appeal their assessed valuations,
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1 pursuant to the assessment laws of this Commonwealth, due to the
2 occurrence of a "catastrophic loss" and of the moratorium on
3 taxation attributable to increases in assessed valuations due to
4 reconstruction or repairs as required herein. The notice shall
5 appear on at least two occasions in newspapers of general
6 circulation within the affected areas within 60 days of the
7 effective date of this act.
8 (f) Application.--This section shall apply only to property
9 damaged or destroyed on or after January 1, 1984.
10 (g) Definition.--As used in this section the term "local
11 taxing authority" means any political subdivision authorized to
12 impose real property taxes.
13 Section 2. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
14 Section 4. Retroactivity.
15 This act shall apply retroactively to disasters for which the
16 Presidential Declaration was issued in calendar year 1984, 1985
17 or 1986.
18 Section 5. Effective date.
19 This act shall take effect immediately.
20 Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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