THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY ROBBINS, EICHELBERGER, KASUNIC, FOLMER, GORDNER, BOSCOLA, ORIE, RAFFERTY, YAW, M. WHITE, D. WHITE, ERICKSON, BAKER, ALLOWAY, BRUBAKER, GREENLEAF, SMUCKER, WAUGH, FERLO, VANCE, EARLL, SCARNATI, McILHINNEY, PICCOLA, WARD AND BROWNE, JANUARY 26, 2011

SENATOR CORMAN, APPROPRIATIONS, RE-REPORTED AS AMENDED, SEPTEMBER 20, 2011   

AN ACT

Amending the act of June 23, 1931 (P.L.932, No.317), entitled

"An act relating to cities of the third class; and amending,

revising, and consolidating the law relating thereto,"

further regulating contracts as to purchasing and advertising

requirements.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 1901(a), (b) and (d) of the act of June

23, 1931 (P.L.932, No.317), known as The Third Class City Code,

reenacted and amended June 28, 1951 (P.L.662, No.164), amended

March 25, 1988 (P.L.289, No.32) and July 11, 1996 (P.L.647, No.

109), is amended to read:

Section 1901.  Power to Make Contracts; Regulations

Concerning Contracts.--(a)  Each city may make contracts for

carrying into execution the provisions of this act and the laws

of the Commonwealth. The council shall, by ordinance, provide

for and regulate the award of all contracts. All contracts or

purchases not in excess of [ten] twenty-five the base amount of

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eighteen thousand five hundred dollars, subject to adjustment

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under section one thousand nine hundred and three point one of

this act, shall be by note or memorandum in writing, signed by

the officer or employe making the purchase or contract.

(b)  All services and personal properties required by any

city, or any department thereof, where the base amount exceeds

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the sum of [ten] twenty-five eighteen thousand five hundred 

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dollars, subject to adjustment under section one thousand nine

hundred and three point one of this act, shall be furnished and

performed under written contract, and the contract shall be

awarded and given to the lowest responsible bidder, after

advertising two times, each publication on a different day, in

not more than two newspapers, in accord with the provisions of

section one hundred and nine of this act, and the bids shall not

be opened until at least ten days have elapsed after the first

advertisement. A notice of the advertisement for contracts or

purchases shall also be posted at the city hall.

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(d)  The contracts or purchases made by council involving an

expenditure [of over [ten] twenty-five in excess of the base

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amount of eighteen thousand five hundred dollars, subject to

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adjustment under section one thousand nine hundred and three

point one of this act, which shall not require advertising or

bidding, as hereinbefore provided are as follows:

(1)  Those for maintenance, repairs or replacements for

water, electric light or other public works of the city,

provided they do not constitute new additions, extensions or

enlargements of existing facilities and equipment, but a bond

may be required by council as in other cases of work done.

(2)  Those made for improvements, repairs and maintenance of

any kind made or provided by any city through its own employes:

Provided, however, That this shall not apply to construction

materials used in a street improvement.

(3)  Those where particular types, models or pieces of new

equipment, articles, apparatus, appliances, vehicles, or parts

thereof, are desired by council, which are patented and

manufactured or copyrighted products.

(4)  Those involving any policies of insurance or surety

company bonds; those made for public utility service under

tariffs on file with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission;

those made with another political subdivision or a county, the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Federal government, any agency

of the Commonwealth or the Federal government, or any municipal

authority, including the sale, leasing or loan of any supplies

or materials by the Commonwealth or the Federal government, or

their agencies, but the price thereof shall not be in excess of

that fixed by the Commonwealth, the Federal government, or their

agencies.

(5)  Those involving personal or professional services.

(6)  Those made during a state of emergency declared by the

mayor or chief executive in accord with section one thousand two

hundred and three of this act.

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Section 2.  Section 1902 of the act, amended March 25, 1988

(P.L.289, No.32), is amended to read:

Section 1902.  Evasion of Advertising Requirements.--No

member or members of council shall evade the provisions of the

preceding section as to advertising for bids by purchasing or

contracting for services and personal properties piecemeal for

the purpose of obtaining prices under [ten] twenty-five the base

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amount of eighteen thousand five hundred dollars, subject to

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adjustment under section one thousand nine hundred and three

point one of this act, upon transactions which should, in the

exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence, be conducted as

one transaction amounting to more than [ten] twenty-five the

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base amount of eighteen thousand five hundred dollars, subject

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to adjustment under section one thousand nine hundred and three

point one of this act. This provision is intended to make

unlawful the practice of evading advertising requirements by

making a series of purchases or contracts, each for less than

the advertising requirement price, or by making several

simultaneous purchases or contracts, each below said price,

when, in either case, the transactions involved should have been

made as one transaction for one price. Any members of council

who so vote in violation of this provision and who know that the

transaction upon which they so vote is or ought to be a part of

a larger transaction and that it is being divided in order to

evade the requirements as to advertising for bids, shall be

jointly and severally subject to surcharge for ten per centum of

the full amount of the contract or purchase. Wherever it shall

appear that a member of council may have voted in violation of

this section but the purchase or contract on which he so voted

was not approved by council, this section shall be inapplicable.

Section 3.  The act is amended by adding a section to read:

Section 1903.1.  Adjustments to Base Amount Based on Consumer

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Price Index for All Urban Consumers.--(a)  Every five years,

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beginning with the year in which this subsection becomes

applicable to contracts and purchases, the Department of Labor

and Industry shall calculate the average percentage change in

the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the

United States city average for all items as published by the

United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,

for the preceding five years.

(b)  The amounts at which competitive bidding and separate

bids are required under this act shall be adjusted every five

years. The positive percentage change, as determined in

accordance with subsection (a), shall be multiplied by the

applicable amount for the current five-year period and the

product thereof shall be added to the applicable amount for the

current five-year period, with the result rounded to the nearest

multiple of one hundred.

(c)  The determination required under subsection (a) and the

calculation of the adjustments required under subsection (b)

shall be made in the period between October 1 and November 15 of

the year following the effective date of this section, and

between October 1 and November 15 of each successive year.

(d)  The adjusted amounts obtained in accordance with

subsection (b) shall become effective January 1 for the five-

year period following the year in which the determination

required under subsection (a) is made.

(e)  The Department of Labor and Industry shall give notice

in the Pennsylvania Bulletin prior to January 1 of each calendar

year in which the percentage change determined in accordance

with subsection (a) and the amounts, whether adjusted or

unadjusted in accordance with subsection (b), at which

competitive bidding, advertising and separate bids are required

under this act for the five-year period beginning the first day

of January after publication of the notice. (a)  Adjustments to

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the base amounts specified under sections 1901, 1902 and 1909

shall be made as follows:

(1)  The Department of Labor and Industry shall determine the

percentage change in the All Items Consumer Price Index for All

Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the United States City Average as

published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of

Labor Statistics for the twelve-month period ending September

30, 2012, and for each successive twelve-month period

thereafter.

(2)  If the department determines that there is no positive

percentage change, then no adjustment to the base amounts shall

occur for the relevant time period provided for in this section.

(3)  (i)  If the department determines that there is a

positive percentage change in the first year that the

determination is made under paragraph (1), the positive

percentage change shall be multiplied by each base amount and

the products shall be added to the base amounts, respectively,

and the sums shall be preliminary adjusted amounts.

(ii)  The preliminary adjusted amounts shall be rounded to

the nearest one thousand dollars ($1,000), to determine the

final adjusted base amounts for purposes of sections 1901 and

1902.

(4)  In each successive year in which there is a positive

percentage change in the CPI-U for the United States City

Average, the positive percentage change shall be multiplied by

the most recent preliminary adjusted amounts and the products

shall be added to the preliminary adjusted amount of the prior

year to calculate the preliminary adjusted amounts for the

current year. The sums thereof shall be rounded to the nearest

one thousand dollars ($1,000) to determine the new final

adjusted base amounts for purposes of sections 1901 and 1902.

(5)  The determinations and adjustments required under this

section shall be made in the period between October 1 and

November 15 of the year following the effective date of this

subsection, and annually between October 1 and November 15 of

each year thereafter.

(6)  The final adjusted base amounts and new final adjusted

base amounts obtained under paragraphs (3) and (4) shall become

effective January 1 for the calendar year following the year in

which the determination required under paragraph (1) is made.

(7)  The department shall publish notice in the Pennsylvania

Bulletin prior to January 1 of each calendar year of the annual

percentage change determined under paragraph (1) and the

unadjusted or final adjusted base amounts determined under

paragraphs (3) and (4) at which competitive bidding is required

under section 1901, advertising is required under section 1902

or separate bids are required under section 1909 for the

calendar year beginning the first day of January after

publication of the notice. The notice shall include a written

and illustrative explanation of the calculations performed by

the department in establishing the unadjusted or final adjusted

base amounts under this section for the ensuing calendar year.

(8)  No adjustment to the base amounts specified under

sections 1901, 1902 and 1909 shall exceed three percent of the

most recently adjusted base amount.

Section 4.  Section 1909 of the act, amended March 25, 1988

(P.L.289, No.32), is amended to read:

Section 1909.  Separate Bids for Plumbing, Heating,

Ventilating and Electrical Work, Elevators and Moving Stairs.--

In the preparation of specifications for the erection,

construction, and alteration of any public building, when the

entire cost of such work shall exceed [ten] twenty-five 

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[thousand] the base amount of eighteen thousand five hundred 

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dollars, subject to adjustment under section one thousand nine

hundred and three point one of this act, the architect,

engineer, or other person preparing such specifications, shall

prepare only the following separate specifications; (1)

plumbing, (2) heating, (3) ventilating, (4) electrical work, (5)

elevators and moving stairs, and (6) one complete set of

specifications for all the other work to be done in such

erection, construction and alteration. The person or persons

authorized to enter into contracts for the erection,

construction, or alteration of such public buildings shall

receive separate bids upon each of the said branches of work,

and award the contract for the same to the lowest responsible

bidder for each of said branches, including the balance of the

work in addition to the plumbing, heating, ventilating and

electrical work and elevators and moving stairs. Where it is

desired to install an air conditioning unit, the heating and

ventilating so involved may be regarded as one branch of work

having only one set of specifications, and bids may be received

and a contract awarded thereon as hereinbefore provided.

Section 5.  This act shall apply to contracts and purchases

advertised on or after January 1 of the year following the

effective date of this section.

Section 6.  This act shall take effect immediately.