THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY GORDNER, FOLMER, COSTA, M. WHITE, EARLL, ALLOWAY AND WONDERLING, JANUARY 30, 2009

REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 30, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending the act of May 21, 1943 (P.L.571, No.254), entitled, as

amended, "An act relating to assessment for taxation in

counties of the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth

classes; designating the subjects, property and persons

subject to and exempt from taxation for county, borough,

town, township, school, except in cities and county

institution district purposes; and providing for and

regulating the assessment and valuation thereof for such

purposes; creating in each such county a board for the

assessment and revision of taxes; defining the powers and

duties of such boards; providing for the acceptance of this

act by cities; regulating the office of ward, borough, town

and township assessors; abolishing the office of assistant

triennial assessor in townships of the first class; providing

for the appointment of a chief assessor, assistant assessors

and other employes; providing for their compensation payable

by such counties; prescribing certain duties of and certain

fees to be collected by the recorder of deeds and municipal

officers who issue building permits; imposing duties on

taxables making improvements on land and grantees of land;

prescribing penalties; eliminating the triennial assessment;

and regulating certain assessments in all counties,"

eliminating office of assessor in boroughs and townships of

the first class; making conforming amendments; and making

repeals.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  The definition of "assessor" in section 102 of

the act of May 21, 1943 (P.L.571, No.254), known as The Fourth

to Eighth Class County Assessment Law, amended November 29, 2006

(P.L.1477, No.167), is amended to read:

Section 102.  Definitions.--The following words and phrases

shall for the purpose of this act have the meanings respectively

ascribed to them in this section, except where the context

clearly indicates a different meaning:

* * *

["Assessor" shall mean the assessor elected in each borough,

town and township of the first class and elected in each ward of

each city, borough or town, including the assistant assessor, if

any, in first class townships.]

* * *

Section 2.  Section 302(a)(2) of the act, amended November 9,

1977 (P.L.227, No.70), is amended to read:

Section 302.  Powers and Duties of the Board.--(a)  The board

shall have the power, and it shall be its duty, to

* * *

(2)  Adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with this

act, which shall govern the chief assessor[,] and his assistants

[and local elected assessors] in the making of the assessment.

* * *

Section 3.  Section 501 of the act, amended November 29, 2006

(P.L.1477, No.167), is repealed:

[Section 501.  Election; Term of Office.--(a)  At the

municipal election preceding the expiration of the term of any

assessor now in office, and every fourth year thereafter, the

qualified voters resident therein shall elect:

(1)  In each ward in each city, an assessor;

(2)  In each ward of each borough divided into wards, an

assessor;

(3)  In each borough not divided into wards, an assessor;

(4)  In each ward in each town, an assessor;

(5)  In each township of the first class, an assessor and an

assistant assessor;

Each assessor shall serve from the first Monday of January

next succeeding his election, and for a period of four years

thereafter.

(b)  The offices of assistant triennial assessor in townships

of the first class is hereby abolished.]

Section 4.  Section 502 of the act, amended July 17, 1953

(P.L.464, No.113) and June 30, 1969 (P.L.103, No.39), is

repealed:

[Section 502.  Oath of Assessor.--Before entering on the

duties of his office, each assessor shall take and subscribe the

following oath or affirmation:

"I, ............, do hereby (swear or affirm) that I will,as

assessor for .......... (ward, borough, town or township), use

my utmost diligence to discover and ascertain and will report to

the chief assessor all persons and property made taxable by law,

in accordance with the law and all rules and regulations of the

Board of Assessment Appeals made pursuant thereto, and will

perform to the best of my ability the duties imposed upon me by

law and keep faith with trust reposed in me by the citizens of

the community I serve."

A copy of the oath of assessor, duly attested by an officer

empowered to administer oaths, shall be filed by the assessor

with the board. For the purpose of this section, the chief

assessor, the board or any member thereof shall be competent to

administer the oath or affirmation.]

Section 5.  Section 503 of the act is repealed:

[Section 503.  Vacancies in the Office of Assessor.--Whenever

any assessor shall fail to take and subscribe the oath required,

or to file the same in the office of the board prior to the

first day of February succeeding election to the office of

assessor, the office shall be vacant. Where a vacancy in the

office of assessor shall occur by reason of the death,

resignation, disqualification or failure to qualify of the duly

elected assessor, or where the voters fail to elect an assessor,

the board shall appoint an assessor to fill such vacancy for the

unexpired term.]

Section 6.  Section 504 of the act, amended January 18, 1952

(1951 P.L.2138, No.606), is repealed:

[Section 504.  Penalty on Assessor for Failure to Perform

Duty.--(a)  If any assessor knowingly and intentionally omits,

neglects or refuses to comply with any order or warrant issued

to him in conformity with law, or neglects or refuses to obey

any valid rule or regulation of the board, or neglects or

refuses to secure any information or data necessary for

assessment purposes reasonably and properly requested by the

chief assessor, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor in office,

and on conviction thereof shall be fined not more than two

hundred dollars, and shall be removed from office.]

Section 7.  Section 505 of the act, amended June 27, 1974

(P.L.418, No.147), is repealed:

[Section 505.  Compensation of Assessor.--Each assessor

hereafter elected shall be paid by rates established by the

county salary board. On or before the tenth day of each month

succeeding any month in which the assessor has been employed one

or more days in the performance of his duties, the assessor

shall file with the board a sworn statement of the days so

employed, indicating the particular days and the nature of the

duties performed on each day. The board shall make such

examination of the statement as to it seems proper, and shall

allow or disallow any compensation claimed by the assessor

within twenty days after receipt of such statement. Any assessor

who shall be aggrieved by the action of the board in allowing or

disallowing any compensation claimed by him may appeal from the

decision of the board to the court of common pleas of the

county.]

Section 8.  Section 506 of the act, amended January 18, 1952

(1951 P.L.2138, No.606), is repealed:

[Section 506.  Duties of Assessor.--It shall be the duty of

each assessor to gather and report to the chief assessor all

data and information necessary to assess, rate and value all

subjects or objects of local taxation within the respective

ward, borough, town or township of which he is assessor, whether

for county, city, borough, town, township, school, poor or

institution district purposes in accordance with the law and all

lawful regulations prescribed by the board.]

Section 9.  Section 601 of the act, amended December 13, 1982

(P.L.1173, No.270), is amended to read:

Section 601.  Preparation of Assessment Roll.--Annually, on

or before the first day of July, the chief assessor shall[, from

the returns made by the local assessors,] prepare and submit to

the board, in the form prescribed by the board, an assessment

roll or list of persons and property subject to local taxation,

together with the actual value placed upon each person, each

parcel or tract of real property and the personal property of

each person by the assessor, and shall make and have supervision

of listing and valuation of property excluded or exempted from

taxation. The chief assessor shall, at the same time, prepare

and submit a list of all property exempted by law from taxation.

The making of triennial assessments as provided by existing law

is hereby abolished.

Section 10.  Section 602.2(c) of the act, amended October 11,

2000 (P.L.533, No.69), is amended to read:

Section 602.2.  Abstracts of Building Permits and Information

on Improvements to be Furnished Board.--* * *

(c)  [At least once every three months, the board shall

forward copies of such improvement records to the assessors of

the political subdivision in which such improvements are made or

contemplated.] The county assessors shall visit the site of the

improvements and secure any information the board requests,

which may include the description and measurements, type of

construction, degree of completion, cost and probable value of

the improvements.

Section 11.  Sections 602.3 and 605.2 of the act, added

September 23, 1961 (P.L.1604, No.678), are amended to read:

Section 602.3.  Valuation of Mobilehomes or House Trailers.--

It shall be the duty of the [several elected and appointed

assessors of the political subdivisions] county assessor to

assess, rate and value all mobilehomes and house trailers within

[their subdivisions] the county according to the actual value

thereof and prices for which the same would separately bona fide

sell. The land upon which such mobilehome or house trailer is

located at the time of assessment shall be valued separately and

shall not include the value of the house trailer or mobilehome

located thereon.

Section 605.2.  Report to Assessors of Mobilehomes or House

Trailers.--All mobilehome court operators which shall mean every

person who leases land to two or more persons for the purpose of

allowing such persons to locate thereon a mobilehome or house

trailer which is subject to real property taxation shall

maintain a record of all such leases which shall be open for

inspection at all reasonable times by the [tax assessor of the

political subdivision] county assessor. As part of such record,

the court operator shall note the arrival of each mobilehome or

house trailer, the make or manufacturer thereof, the serial

number, the number of occupants, their names and ages, and their

last prior residence address. Each month the mobilehome court

operator shall send a record to the [tax assessor of the

political subdivision] county assessment office of the arrivals

and departures of mobilehomes or house trailers in his court

during the prior month.

Section 12.  Section 610 of the act is amended to read:

Section 610.  Assessment Where Township Line Passes Through

Mansion House.--Whenever the dividing line between any township

and city or borough, or between any two townships as now or may

be hereafter located, shall pass through the mansion house of

any tract of land, the owner of the land so divided may chose as

the place of residence of its occupants, either of the townships

or the borough by a written notice of his election to the

commissioners of the county. A choice once so made shall be

binding on the owner and occupiers of such mansion house and on

future owners thereof. In case of the neglect or refusal of the

owner of such land to make an election as aforesaid, the persons

occupying said mansion house shall be regarded as residing

wholly within the township, and [the elected or appointed

assessors of such township shall,] in such case or when he

elects to reside in the township, [assess therein] such persons

and all the tract of land on which such mansion house is erected

shall be assessed as in the township.

Section 13.  Any assessor or assistant assessor in a township

of the first class or borough in office on the effective date of

this section shall remain in office until the end of the term

for which the assessor was elected and, in any borough or a

township of the first class in which an assessor continues in

office in accordance with this section, the repeal of provisions

of the Borough Code and the First Class Township Code in section

14 shall not apply until the end of the term for which the

assessor was elected.

Section 14.  Repeals are as follows:

(1)  The General Assembly declares that the repeals under

paragraph (2) are necessary to effectuate the provisions of

this act.

(2)  The following acts and parts of acts are repealed:

(i)  Sections 228 and 515 of the act of June 24, 1931

(P.L.1206, No.331), known as The First Class Township

Code.

(ii)  Sections 851 and 1081 of the act of February 1,

1966 (1965 P.L.1656, No.581), known as The Borough Code.

(3)  The following acts and parts of acts are repealed

insofar as they are inconsistent with this act:

(i)  Sections 503, 530, 1502 and 1709.1 of The First

Class Township Code.

(ii)  Sections 806, 901 and 1306 of The Borough Code.

Section 15.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.