PRINTER'S NO. 1275
No. 1158 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY COLAFELLA, MICOZZIE, COLAIZZO, REINARD, DeLUCA,
ROONEY, GLADECK, CESSAR, JOSEPHS, GODSHALL AND TRELLO,
APRIL 19, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE, APRIL 19, 1993
AN ACT
1 Providing for automobile theft prevention; establishing the
2 Automobile Theft Prevention Authority and providing for its
3 powers and duties; and creating the Automobile Theft
4 Prevention Trust Fund.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Automobile
9 Theft Prevention Act.
10 Section 2. Purpose of act.
11 The purpose of this act is to establish, coordinate and fund
12 activities in this Commonwealth to prevent, combat and reduce
13 automobile theft, to improve and support automobile theft law
14 enforcement and administration and to improve and support
15 automobile theft prosecution.
16 Section 3. Definitions.
17 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
18 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
1 context clearly indicates otherwise:
2 "Authority." The Automobile Theft Prevention Authority
3 established under this act.
4 "Automobile." A private passenger four-wheel motor vehicle,
5 except recreational vehicles not intended for highway use, which
6 is insured.
7 "Board." The board of directors of the Automobile Theft
8 Prevention Authority.
9 "Fund." The Automobile Theft Prevention Trust Fund created
10 under section 6.
11 Section 4. Automobile Theft Prevention Authority.
12 (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established a body
13 corporate and politic to be known as the Automobile Theft
14 Prevention Authority. The purposes, powers and duties of the
15 authority shall be vested in and exercised by the board of
16 directors thereof as provided for in this act.
17 (b) Composition.--The board of the authority shall consist
18 of seven members, composed and appointed in accordance with the
19 following:
20 (1) The Attorney General.
21 (2) Three representatives of insurers authorized to
22 write automobile insurance doing business in this
23 Commonwealth.
24 (3) Three at-large members who are not employed by the
25 insurance industry.
26 (c) Appointment.--With the exception of the Attorney
27 General, all board members shall be appointed by the Governor
28 from names submitted to the Governor by the Pennsylvania Anti-
29 Car Theft Committee.
30 (d) Terms.--With the exception of the Attorney General,
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1 members of the board shall serve for terms of four years. No
2 appointed member shall be eligible to serve more than two full
3 consecutive terms.
4 (e) Compensation.--Members of the board shall serve without
5 compensation, except that members of the board shall receive
6 reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred
7 in connection with their duties, in accordance with the rules of
8 the Executive Board.
9 (f) Quorum and meetings.--A majority of the members of the
10 board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business
11 at a meeting or the exercise of a power or function of the
12 authority. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, action
13 may be taken by the board at a meeting upon a vote of the
14 majority of its members present in person or through the use of
15 amplified telephonic equipment, if authorized by the bylaws of
16 the board. The board shall meet at the call of the chairperson
17 or as may be provided in the bylaws of the board. The board
18 shall meet at least quarterly. Meetings of the board may be held
19 anywhere within this Commonwealth. The board shall elect its own
20 chairperson.
21 Section 5. Powers and duties.
22 The authority shall have the powers necessary and convenient
23 to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this
24 act and the purposes of the authority and the powers delegated
25 by other laws, including, but not limited to, the power to:
26 (1) Employ administrative, professional, clerical and
27 other personnel as may be required and organize the staff as
28 may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this act.
29 (2) Have a seal and alter the same at pleasure, have
30 perpetual succession, make, execute and deliver contracts,
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1 conveyances and other instruments necessary or convenient to
2 the exercise of its powers and make and amend bylaws.
3 (3) Procure insurance against any loss in connection
4 with its property, assets or activities.
5 (4) Apply for, solicit, receive, establish priorities
6 for, allocate, disburse, contract for, administer and spend
7 funds in the fund, and other funds that are made available to
8 the authority from any source consistent with the purposes of
9 this act.
10 (5) Make grants to and provide financial support for
11 government agencies, community, consumer and business
12 organizations consistent with the purposes of this act.
13 (6) Invest any money held in the fund and any funds held
14 in reserve or sinking funds, and any money not required for
15 immediate use or disbursement, at its discretion and to name
16 and use depositories for its money.
17 (7) Assess the scope of the problem of automobile theft,
18 including identification of those areas of this Commonwealth
19 where the problem is greatest, and review State and local
20 criminal justice policies, programs and plans dealing with
21 automobile theft.
22 (8) Develop and sponsor the implementation of Statewide
23 plans, programs and strategies to combat automobile theft,
24 improve the administration of the automobile theft laws and
25 provide a forum for identification of critical problems for
26 those persons dealing with automobile theft.
27 (9) Coordinate the development, adoption and
28 implementation of plans, programs and strategies relating to
29 interagency and intergovernmental cooperation with respect to
30 automobile theft law enforcement.
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1 (10) Promulgate rules or regulations related to the
2 expenditure of moneys held in the fund in order to assist and
3 support those agencies, units of government and other
4 organizations charged with the responsibility of reducing
5 automobile theft or interested and involved in achieving this
6 goal.
7 (11) Audit at its discretion the plans and programs that
8 it has funded in whole or in part in order to evaluate the
9 effectiveness of the plans and programs and withdraw funding
10 should the authority determine that a plan or program is
11 ineffective or is no longer in need of further financial
12 support from the fund.
13 (12) Report annually, on or before the first day of
14 April falling after this act has been effective for at least
15 12 months, and annually thereafter on the same schedule, to
16 the Governor and the General Assembly on the authority's
17 activities in the preceding period. The report shall be
18 available for public inspection.
19 Section 6. Automobile Theft Prevention Trust Fund.
20 (a) Creation.--A separate account in the State Treasury is
21 hereby established to be known as the Automobile Theft
22 Prevention Trust Fund. The fund shall be administered by the
23 authority. All interest earned from the investment or deposit of
24 moneys accumulated in the fund shall be deposited in trust in
25 the fund.
26 (b) Funds.--All moneys deposited into the fund shall not be
27 considered general revenue of this Commonwealth, but shall be
28 used only to effectuate the purposes of this act as determined
29 by the authority and shall be subject to audit by the Auditor
30 General.
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1 (c) Assessment.--Prior to the first day of April following
2 the effective date of this act and prior to the first day of
3 April of each year thereafter so long as this act shall remain
4 in effect, each insurer engaged in the writing of automobile
5 insurance coverages, as a condition of its authorization to
6 transact automobile insurance business in this Commonwealth,
7 shall pay into the fund in trust an amount equal to the product
8 obtained by multiplying $4,000,000 by a fraction, the numerator
9 of which is the total private passenger and commercial
10 automobile physical damage insurance premiums written in this
11 Commonwealth by that insurer during the preceding calendar year
12 and the denominator of which is the total private passenger and
13 commercial automobile physical damage insurance premiums written
14 in this Commonwealth by all insurers in the same period.
15 Assessments made under this section shall not be considered
16 burdens and prohibitions under section 212 of the act of May 17,
17 1921 (P.L.789, No.285), known as The Insurance Department Act of
18 one thousand nine hundred and twenty-one.
19 (d) Base amount.--In succeeding years the authority may vary
20 the base amount of $4,000,000, provided, however, that any
21 increase which on an annual basis exceeds the increase in the
22 Consumer Price Index for this Commonwealth must be approved by
23 five of seven members of the board.
24 (e) Expenditures.--Moneys in the fund shall be expended by
25 the authority for the following purposes:
26 (1) To effectuate the powers, duties and
27 responsibilities of the authority as set forth in section 5.
28 (2) To provide financial support to law enforcement,
29 correctional agencies and prosecutors for programs designed
30 to reduce automobile theft and to improve the administration
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1 of automobile theft laws.
2 (3) To provide financial support for other governmental
3 agencies, community, consumer and business organizations for
4 programs designed to reduce automobile theft and to improve
5 the administration of automobile theft laws.
6 (4) To provide financial support to programs designed to
7 inform owners of automobiles about the costs of automobile
8 theft to individuals and to society and to suggest methods
9 for preventing automobile theft.
10 (5) To provide financial support for reward programs
11 leading to the arrest and conviction of persons and
12 organizations engaged in automobile theft.
13 (6) To provide financial support for other plans,
14 programs and strategies consistent with the purposes of this
15 act.
16 (f) Dissolution.--In the event that the trust fund is
17 discontinued or the authority is dissolved by operation of law,
18 any balance remaining in the fund, after deducting
19 administrative costs for liquidation, shall be returned to
20 insurers in proportion to their financial contributions to the
21 fund in the preceding calendar year.
22 Section 7. Immunity.
23 In the absence of malice, no board member and no employee,
24 agent or designee of the authority shall be subject to civil or
25 criminal liability for receiving or disclosing information
26 related to automobile theft or the activities of the authority.
27 In the absence of malice, persons or organizations shall not be
28 subject to civil or criminal liability for providing information
29 to the authority or its employees relating to automobile theft.
30 This section does not abrogate or modify in any way any common
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1 law or statutory privilege or immunity heretofore enjoyed by any
2 person.
3 Section 8. Repeals.
4 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
5 inconsistent with this act.
6 Section 9. Effective date.
7 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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