SENATE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 212, 586, 986, PRINTER'S NO. 1402
1016
No. 189 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY LAUGHLIN, COY, KUKOVICH, TRELLO, CESSAR, HASAY,
ALDERETTE, RYBAK, MAIALE, KOWALYSHYN, MORRIS, F. E. TAYLOR,
WAMBACH, McCALL, COLAFELLA, LESCOVITZ, LIVENGOOD, DeLUCA,
BURD, BOWSER, SERAFINI, FREIND, CIVERA, MICOZZIE, KLINGAMAN,
LEVI, MANMILLER, WASS, PUNT, HERSHEY, GLADECK, AFFLERBACH,
KOSINSKI, O'BRIEN, STAIRS, MILLER, ANGSTADT, FREEMAN,
STEWART, WOZNIAK, McHALE, GRUITZA, LLOYD, CAWLEY, TIGUE,
BLAUM, DALEY, D. R. WRIGHT, HALUSKA, PRATT, GALLAGHER,
GAMBLE, McINTYRE, CIMINI, STUBAN, ITKIN, CAPPABIANCA AND
SWEET, FEBRUARY 8, 1983
SENATOR CORMAN, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, IN SENATE, AS AMENDED,
JUNE 14, 1983
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 7, 1947 (P.L.1368, No.542), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act amending, revising and consolidating the
3 laws relating to delinquent county, city, except of the first
4 and second class and second class A, borough, town, township,
5 school district, except of the first class and school
6 districts within cities of the second class A, and
7 institution district taxes, providing when, how and upon what
8 property, and to what extent liens shall be allowed for such
9 taxes, the return and entering of claims therefor; the
10 collection and adjudication of such claims, sales of real
11 property, including seated and unseated lands, subject to the
12 lien of such tax claims; the disposition of the proceeds
13 thereof, including State taxes and municipal claims recovered
14 and the redemption of property; providing for the discharge
15 and divestiture by certain tax sales of all estates in
16 property and of mortgages and liens on such property, and the
17 proceedings therefor; creating a Tax Claim Bureau in each
18 county, except counties of the first and second class, to act
19 as agent for taxing districts; defining its powers and
20 duties, including sales of property, the management of
21 property taken in sequestration, and the management, sale and
22 disposition of property heretofore sold to the county
23 commissioners, taxing districts and trustees at tax sales;
1 providing a method for the service of process and notices;
2 imposing duties on taxing districts and their officers and on
3 tax collectors, and certain expenses on counties and for
4 their reimbursement by taxing districts; and repealing
5 existing laws," extending time for claims for unpaid taxes;
6 and extending waiting periods.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Section 308(a) of the act of July 7, 1947
10 (P.L.1368, No.542), known as the Real Estate Tax Sale Law,
11 amended July 10, 1980 (P.L.417, No.98), is amended to read:
12 Section 308. Notice of Filing of Returns and Entry of
13 Claim.--(a) Not later than the thirty-first day of July of each
14 year, or for the first year a county operates under this act,
15 not later than the thirty-first day of October, or whenever,
16 heretofore, any claims have been returned to and a claim entered
17 with the tax claim bureau and the same has not been pursued to
18 sale as provided for by the act of Assembly, then within six (6)
19 months after the effective date of this act, the bureau shall
20 give notice of the return of said taxes and the entry of such
21 claim to each delinquent taxable, by United States registered
22 mail or United States certified mail, return receipt requested,
23 postage prepaid, addressed to the owner personally at his last
24 known post office address. If the owner of the property is
25 unknown and has been unknown for a period of not less than ten
26 years, such notice shall be given only by posting on the
27 property affected. If no post office address of the owner is
28 known or if a notice mailed to an owner at such last known post
29 office address is not delivered to him by the postal
30 authorities, then notice as herein provided shall immediately be
31 posted on the property affected. Each mailed and posted notice
32 shall, (1) show all the information shown on the claim entered,
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1 (2) state that if payment of the amount due the several taxing
2 districts for said taxes is not made to the bureau on or before
3 the thirty-first day of December next following, in cases where
4 the notice was mailed prior to August first, or that if payment
5 is not made on or before March thirty-first of the following
6 year, in cases where the notice was mailed on or after August
7 first, or no exceptions thereto filed, the said claim shall
8 become absolute, (3) state that on July first of the year in
9 which such notice is given or if the notice was mailed after
10 July thirty-first, that on the first day of the month (naming
11 it) in which the notice was mailed the one (1) year period of
12 redemption shall commence or has commenced to run, and that if
13 redemption is not made during that period as provided by this
14 act, the property shall be sold pursuant to the provisions of
15 this act and there shall be no further redemption after such
16 sale and (4) state that the owner of any owner-occupied real
17 estate can apply for an extension of the redemption period for
18 up to twelve (12) additional months under and subject to the
19 provisions of section 502 of this act.
20 * * *
21 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section SECTIONS <--
22 to read:
23 SECTION 502. OPTION OF COUNTY TO EXTEND REDEMPTION PERIOD.-- <--
24 IF THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF A COUNTY, AS DETERMINED BY THE
25 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY, IS EIGHT PER CENTUM (8%) OR
26 GREATER FOR THE PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR, THEN A COUNTY MAY AT
27 THE OPTION OF ITS COMMISSIONERS ENACT LEGISLATION EXTENDING THE
28 REAL ESTATE TAX REDEMPTION PERIOD FOR TAXPAYERS.
29 Section 502 503. Extension of Redemption Period.--(a) If <--
30 the county commissioners of the county, acting through the
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1 county tax claim bureau determine that a tax claim constitutes
2 severe hardship to the taxpayer and that extenuating
3 circumstances beyond the taxpayer's control have caused the tax
4 claim to be filed or remain unpaid and there is a reasonable
5 probability that the taxpayer will be able to meet the
6 indebtedness if granted an extension of the redemption period
7 for up to twelve (12) additional months, they shall have the
8 authority in the event of an application for extension submitted
9 by the taxpayer to:
10 (1) Extend the redemption period for residential real estate
11 for up to twelve (12) additional months: Provided, That the
12 taxpayer enters into an equitable apportioned payment schedule
13 consistent therewith.
14 (2) Abate, suspend, continue or stay the tax sale
15 proceedings pending with respect to such owner-occupied
16 residential real estate.
17 (b) The payment schedule authorized under subsection (a)
18 shall permit the taxpayer to make payment of the amount due in
19 at least four (4) separate payments, spaced at least thirty (30)
20 days apart, and shall require the initial payment to be not more
21 than twenty-five per centum (25%) of the total indebtedness
22 calculated to be due under such schedule.
23 (c) The application for extension authorized in clause (1)
24 of subsection (a) shall be made in such form as shall be
25 provided by the bureau. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of
26 such an application, the director of the bureau shall either
27 allow or disallow such an extension. If such an extension is
28 allowed, the bureau shall set the length of such extension. Any
29 taxpayer aggrieved by the decision of the bureau may, within
30 fifteen (15) days after notice thereof, appeal to the county
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1 court of common pleas for de novo review of the application.
2 (d) For the purpose of this section the phrase "extenuating
3 circumstances" means:
4 (1) Serious physical illness or injury or a combination of
5 such illness or injury with a state of prolonged unemployment
6 if: (i) the taxpayer is a permanent resident of the
7 Commonwealth, (ii) the illness or injury, or combination
8 thereof, occurred during the tax year for which the taxes were
9 assessed or during the year immediately preceding, and (iii) the
10 illness or injury, or combination thereof, has been a
11 substantial cause of the taxpayer's failure to pay the tax to
12 the date of application for relief under this section.
13 (2) Unemployment if: (i) the taxpayer is a permanent
14 resident of the Commonwealth, (ii) the unemployment occurred
15 during the tax year for which the taxes were assessed or during
16 the year immediately preceding, and (iii) the unemployment has
17 been a substantial cause of the taxpayer's failure to pay the
18 tax to the date of application for relief under this section.
19 (e) For the purpose of this section an extension of the
20 redemption period shall only apply to one (1) residence per
21 taxpayer.
22 Section 3. The provisions of this act shall apply to all tax
23 claims against residential property which has not yet been sold
24 on the effective date of this act. The court of common pleas of
25 the county upon petition of the tax claim bureau shall stay the
26 sale under this act of residential property subject to a tax
27 claim for which the redemption period of section 501(a) of the
28 act has expired on or before the effective date of this act or
29 for which the redemption period will expire in less than 90 days
30 from the effective date of this act. The stay shall be for such
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1 period as the court determines necessary for the bureau to
2 comply with the provisions of this act.
3 SECTION 4. THIS ACT SHALL EXPIRE JANUARY 1, 1985. <--
4 Section 4 5. This act shall take effect immediately. <--
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