Trial Engrossment of Amendment A04871 to House Bill 1564 P.N. 1987, Regular Session 2019-2020

A04871

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

1564

Session of

2019

INTRODUCED BY EMRICK, JUNE 4, 2019

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JUNE 4, 2019

AN ACT

Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes,

in general provisions, emergency

seat of government,

providing for other emergencies and

further providing for applicability of subchapter; and, in

consolidated county assessment, further providing for

definitions, for subjects of local taxation and for

assessment of mobile homes and house trailers.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 8802 of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding definitions to read:

Section 1. Title 53 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 1123.1. Other emergencies.

(a) Application of section.--I n addition to the other

provisions of this subchapter, the provisions of this section

shall also apply after the declaration of a disaster or

emergency by the Governor and during which the conduct of the

affairs of local government at a regular place and time are

imprudent, inexpedient or impossible as provided for by this

subchapter.

(b) Use of telecommunications devices.-- If the declaration

is of a disaster or emergency which would render the conduct of

public business dangerous to the health or safety of the members

of the governing body, officials or members of the public, the

governing body of the municipality may exercise its executive,

legislative and judicial powers and functions to the extent

possible, by means of any telecommunication devices, which

permit, at a minimum, audio communication between locations. The

telecommunication devices shall permit the members of the

governing body conducting the affairs of the municipality to

speak to and hear the comments and votes, if any, of the meeting

or conducting the affairs. The governing body need not have a

quorum physically present at any one location in order to

conduct business.

allow, to the extent possible, for public participation in a

meeting conducted by telecommunication devices. The municipality

shall post notice of the meeting on its publicly accessible

Internet website, if any, no later than 24 hours prior to the

start of the meeting to alert the public of the meeting and how

to obtain remote participation information. At least one of the

following shall apply to each meeting:

(1) The meeting is live-streamed via web-based or

mobile-based applications and platforms or other forms of

transmission.

(2) The meeting is recorded with the recording made

available to the public within 24 hours after the meeting,

including on the municipality's publicly accessible Internet

website, if any.

(3) A draft of the minutes of the meeting shall be made

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available for public inspection within 48 hours after the

meeting on the municipality's publicly accessible Internet

website or at an accessible location in the municipality.

(d) Newspaper notification.-- Except where emergency

circumstances dictate otherwise, the governing body shall, no

later than 24 hours prior to the start of the meeting, notify a

newspaper of general circulation of the upcoming meeting with

information on how to access the meeting. The newspaper of

general circulation shall be a newspaper which publishes notices

of the municipality's meetings.

(e) Resolution.--Following the exercise of any executive,

legislative or judicial powers and functions under subsection

(b), and after the Governor's disaster or emergency declaration

is lifted, the actual emergency and the nature of the power or

function exercised shall be stated in a resolution and adopted

by the governing body at the next public meeting at the regular

or usual place of conducting business.

(f) Existing and pending approvals.--If the final day for a

municipality or an agency or board of a municipality to approve

or deny any application, plat, plan or other submission for an

"approval" as that term is defined in section 2 of the act of

July 9, 2013 (P.L.362, No.54), known as the Development Permit

Extension Act, falls during a disaster or emergency dangerous to

health or safety as described in subsection (b), the following

shall apply:

(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law, charter or

ordinance, for any approval received and pending action by a

municipality or an agency or board of a municipality as of

the date of the declaration of a disaster or emergency, the

number of days provided to satisfy statutory time limits in

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review, hearing and decision on any application, plat, plan

or submission shall be suspended or tolled as of the date of

the disaster or emergency declaration and shall resume on the

date following the termination of the disaster or emergency

or the final extension thereof.

(2) The municipality shall notify in writing each

applicant subject to this subsection of the disaster or

emergency, the time extension set forth in this section and

the right to a request as provided in subsection (c)(3). In

no event shall a failure to receive the notice provided by

this section affect the tolling of the number of days

provided to satisfy statutory time limits for review, hearing

and decisions.

(3) The applicant may request such meetings, hearings or

proceedings as may be required by the law, charter or

ordinance provisions governing the application, plat, plan or

submission during the period of the disaster or emergency in

accordance with the procedures in subsections (b), (c), (d)

and (e). It shall be at the discretion of the municipality to

proceed with the requests. If the municipality agrees and

holds the proceedings, the applicant, the municipality and

all other parties receiving actual notice of the proceedings

waive any challenge to the proceedings under 42 Pa.C.S. §

5571.1 (relating to appeals from ordinances, resolutions,

maps, etc.) or any other provision of law.

(4) For an approval granted by a municipality, or board

or agency thereof, and in effect after the beginning of the

disaster or emergency declaration, the running period of the

approval shall be automatically suspended during the disaster

or emergency and shall resume after the final termination of

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the disaster or emergency.

Section 2. Section 1124 of Title 53 is amended to read:

§ 1124. Applicability of subchapter.

The provisions of this subchapter shall control, in the event

it shall be employed, notwithstanding any statutory, charter or

ordinance provision to the contrary or in conflict with this

subchapter.

Section 3. Section 8802 of Title 53 is amended by adding

definitions to read:

§ 8802. Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter

shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

* * *

"Manufactured home." A manufactured home as defined in

section 603(6) of the National Manufactured Housing Construction

and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-383, 42 U.S.C.

5402(6)) or a structure designed and used exclusively for living

quarters.

"Mobile home." A structure manufactured before 1976,

designed and used exclusively for living quarters or commercial

purposes, but only incidentally operated on a highway.

* * *

Section 2 4. Sections 8811(a)(1) and 8821 of Title 53 are

amended to read:

§ 8811. Subjects of local taxation.

(a) Subjects of taxation enumerated.--Except as provided in

subsection (b), all subjects and property made taxable by the

laws of this Commonwealth for county, city, borough, town,

township and school district purposes shall, as provided in this

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chapter, be valued and assessed at the annual rates, including

all:

(1) Real estate, namely:

(i) houses;

(ii) [house trailers] manufactured homes and mobile

homes permanently attached to land or connected with

water, gas, electric or sewage facilities;

(iii) buildings permanently attached to land or

connected with water, gas, electric or sewage facilities;

(iv) lands, lots of ground and ground rents, trailer

parks and parking lots;

(v) mills and manufactories of all kinds, furnaces,

forges, bloomeries, distilleries, sugar houses, malt

houses, breweries, tan yards, fisheries, ferries and

wharves;

(vi) all office buildings;

(vii) that portion of a steel, lead, aluminum or

like melting and continuous casting structure which

encloses or provides shelter or protection from the

elements for the various machinery, tools, appliances,

equipment, materials or products involved in the mill,

mine, manufactory or industrial process; and

(viii) telecommunication towers that have become

affixed to land.

* * *

§ 8821. Assessment of mobile homes and [house trailers]

manufactured homes.

(a) Duty.--It shall be the duty of the county assessment

office to assess all mobile homes and [house trailers]

manufactured homes within the county according to the actual

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value thereof. All mobile homes or [house trailers] manufactured

homes which are subject to taxation as real estate as provided

in this chapter shall be assessed and taxed in the name of the

owner. The land upon which the mobile home or [house trailer]

manufactured home is located at the time of assessment shall be

assessed separately and shall not include the value of the

[house trailer or] mobile home or manufactured home located

thereon.

(a.1) Value.--In arriving at the actual value of a mobile

home or manufactured home, the assessor shall consider:

(1) The value placed on the mobile home or manufactured

home in a national directory or valuation guide prepared by

an association that analyzes mobile home or manufactured home

sales and other relevant data.

(2) Any depreciation in value of the unit.

(3) The ability of the mobile home or manufactured home

to be readily transported from one site to another.

(4) The fair market value of the mobile home or

manufactured home, using the approaches to value specified in

section 8842(b)(1) (relating to valuation of property),

provided, however, that such fair market value shall not

include the value of the land upon which the mobile home or

manufactured home is located.

(b) Records.--All [mobile home court operators] manufactured

housing community owners, which shall mean every person who

leases land to [two] three or more persons for the purpose of

allowing the lessees to locate on the land a mobile home or

[house trailer] manufactured home which is subject to real

property taxation, shall maintain a record of the leases, which

shall be open for inspection at reasonable times by the county

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assessment office. Each month, the [mobile home court operator]

manufactured housing community owner shall send a record to the

county assessment office of the arrivals and departures of

mobile homes or [house trailers] manufactured homes in the

[court] community during the prior month, including the make,

model, manufacturer, year and serial number of the mobile home

or [house trailer] manufactured home.

[house trailer] manufactured home is assessed, rated or valued

as provided in this chapter shall be notified in writing by the

assessor that it shall be unlawful for any person to remove the

mobile home or [house trailer] manufactured home from the taxing

district without first having obtained removal permits from the

local tax collector.

(d) Removal permits.--The local tax collector shall issue

removal permits upon application and payment of a fee of $2 and

of all taxes levied and assessed on the mobile home or [house

trailer] manufactured home to be moved.

(e) Penalty.--Any person who moves a mobile home or [house

trailer] manufactured home from the territorial limits of the

taxing district without first having obtained a removal permit

issued under this chapter shall, upon summary conviction, be

sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and costs of prosecution or to

imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both.

(f) Characterization of property.--Nothing in this section

shall be construed as prohibiting a mobile home or [house

trailer] manufactured home upon which a real property tax is

levied as provided by law from being deemed tangible personal

property for other purposes.

Section 3 5. This act shall take effect January 1 of the

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year following the date of enactment. as follows:

(1) The following provisions shall take effect

immediately:

(i) This section.

(ii) The amendment or addition of 53 Pa.C.S. §§

1123.1 and 1124.

(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect January

1 of the year following the date of enactment.

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