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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY M. SMITH, SWANGER, BRIGGS, GRUCELA, HORNAMAN, HOUGHTON, KESSLER, MAHONEY, McILVAINE SMITH, SANTARSIERO AND SIPTROTH, JANUARY 19, 2010 |
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| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, JANUARY 19, 2010 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Providing for powers of local authorities to establish maximum |
2 | speed limits on roadways and State-designated highways within |
3 | their physical boundaries. |
4 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
5 | hereby enacts as follows: |
6 | Section 1. Short title. |
7 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the Local Speed |
8 | Limit Act. |
9 | Section 2. Definitions. |
10 | The following words and phrases when used in this act shall |
11 | have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
12 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
13 | "Department." The Department of Transportation of the |
14 | Commonwealth. |
15 | "Freeway." A limited access highway to which the only means |
16 | of ingress and egress is by interchange ramps. |
17 | "Interstate highway." A freeway on the Dwight D. Eisenhower |
18 | System of Interstate and Defense Highways. |
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1 | "Limited access highway." A highway in respect to which |
2 | owners or occupants of abutting lands and other persons have no |
3 | legal right of access except at points and in the manner |
4 | determined by the authority having jurisdiction over the |
5 | highway. |
6 | "Local authorities." County, municipal and other local |
7 | boards or bodies having authority to enact laws relating to |
8 | traffic. The term also includes airport authorities, except |
9 | where those authorities are located within counties of the first |
10 | class or counties of the second class. |
11 | "Roadway." That portion of a highway improved, designed or |
12 | ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the sidewalk, |
13 | berm or shoulder even though such sidewalk, berm or shoulder is |
14 | used by pedalcycles. If a highway includes two or more separate |
15 | roadways the term shall refer to each roadway separately but not |
16 | to all such roadways collectively. |
17 | "State-designated highway." A highway or bridge on the |
18 | system of highways and bridges over which the department has |
19 | assumed or has been legislatively given jurisdiction. |
20 | Section 3. Power of local authorities. |
21 | (a) Action by local authorities.--Action taken by local |
22 | authorities under this act shall be: |
23 | (1) by ordinance of the local governing body; or |
24 | (2) by a commission or public official authorized by the |
25 | local governing body to act on specified matters. |
26 | (b) Powers.-- |
27 | (1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), |
28 | notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local authority |
29 | may take action to alter or set maximum speed limits on |
30 | roadways or State-designated highways within their physical |
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1 | boundaries without prior approval or authority from the |
2 | department. |
3 | (2) A local authority may not take action to alter or |
4 | set maximum speed limits in excess of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3362(a) |
5 | (relating to maximum speed limits). |
6 | (c) Engineering and traffic investigation.--Action by local |
7 | authorities under this act shall not require an engineering and |
8 | traffic investigation to establish a speed limit under this act. |
9 | Section 4. Notification and posting of speed limit. |
10 | (a) Notification.--Upon adoption of ordinance or rule, the |
11 | local authority shall promptly notify the department of the |
12 | change in maximum speed limit. |
13 | (b) Posting of speed limit.--After receiving official |
14 | notification from the local authority, the department shall post |
15 | the maximum speed limit as adopted by the local authority on the |
16 | respective roadway or State-designated highway within 30 days. |
17 | Section 5. Exception. |
18 | Local authorities may not alter or set maximum speed limits |
19 | on freeways or interstate highways within their physical |
20 | boundaries. |
21 | Section 20. Effective date. |
22 | This act shall take effect immediately. |
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