Regular Session 2023-2024 House Bill 0859 P.N. 1716

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 835

PRINTER'S NO. 1716

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

859

Session of

2023

INTRODUCED BY D. WILLIAMS, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, CIRESI, T. DAVIS,

HADDOCK, HILL-EVANS, KINSEY, MADDEN, PROBST, RABB, SANCHEZ,

TAKAC, GREEN AND GILLEN, APRIL 10, 2023

AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, JUNE 26, 2023

AN ACT

Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, in neighborhood blight reclamation and

revitalization, further providing for municipal permit

denial.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 6131(a) of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

§ 6131. Municipal permit denial.

(a) Denial.--

(1) A municipality or a board under subsection (c) may

deny issuing to an applicant a municipal permit if the

applicant owns real property in any municipality for which

there exists on the real property:

(i) a final and unappealable tax, water, sewer or

refuse collection delinquency on account of the actions

of the owner; [or]

(ii) a serious violation of State law or a code and

the owner has taken no substantial steps to correct the

violation within six months following notification of the

violation and for which fines or other penalties or a

judgment to abate or correct were imposed by a

magisterial district judge or municipal court, or a

judgment at law or in equity was imposed by a court of

common pleas. However, no denial shall be permitted on

the basis of a property for which the judgment, order or

decree is subject to a stay or supersedeas by an order of

a court of competent jurisdiction or automatically

allowed by statute or rule of court until the stay or

supersedeas is lifted by the court or a higher court or

the stay or supersedeas expires as otherwise provided by

law. Where a stay or supersedeas is in effect, the

property owner shall so advise the municipality seeking

to deny a municipal permit[.]; or

(iii) a delinquency in real property taxes or

municipal charges or for failure to abate a serious

violation of State law or a code on real property within

the ANY municipality that is owned by a CORPORATION OR

limited liability corporation or a principal of a limited

liability corporation, incorporated inside or outside of

this Commonwealth.

(2) A municipality or board shall not deny a municipal

permit to an applicant if the municipal permit is necessary

to correct a violation of State law or a code.

(3) The municipal permit denial shall not apply to an

applicant's delinquency on taxes, water, sewer or refuse

collection charges that are under appeal or otherwise

contested through a court or administrative process.

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(4) In issuing a denial of a permit based on an

applicant's delinquency in real property taxes or municipal

charges or for failure to abate a serious violation of State

law or a code on real property that the applicant owns in

this Commonwealth, the municipality or board shall indicate

the street address, municipal corporation and county in which

the property is located and the court and docket number for

each parcel cited as a basis for the denial. The denial shall

also state that the applicant may request a letter of

compliance from the appropriate State agency, municipality or

school district, in a form specified by such entity as

provided in this section.

(5) A CORPORATION OR limited liability corporation or a

principal of a limited liability corporation OR THEIR AGENT

shall disclose in writing at the submission of an application

any delinquencies in real property taxes or municipal charges

or for failure to abate a serious violation of State law or a

code on any real property within the ANY municipality.

Failure to disclose under this paragraph shall result in the

imposition of a $500 $1,000 fine payable to the municipality.

* * *

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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