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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY EICHELBERGER, RAFFERTY, ORIE, TARTAGLIONE, ERICKSON, GORDNER, ALLOWAY, WASHINGTON, BRUBAKER, WAUGH, GREENLEAF, EARLL, WOZNIAK AND PILEGGI, FEBRUARY 1, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 1, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of June 24, 1931 (P.L.1206, No.331), entitled |
2 | "An act concerning townships of the first class; amending, |
3 | revising, consolidating, and changing the law relating |
4 | thereto," further providing for suits and property. |
5 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
6 | hereby enacts as follows: |
7 | Section 1. Section 1501 of the act of June 24, 1931 |
8 | (P.L.1206, No.331), known as The First Class Township Code, |
9 | reenacted and amended May 27, 1949 (P.L.1955, No.569) and |
10 | amended December 19, 1997 (P.L.618, No.64), is amended to read: |
11 | Section 1501. Suits; Property.--Townships of the first class |
12 | may-- |
13 | I. Sue and be sued. |
14 | II. Purchase, acquire by gift, or otherwise, hold, lease, |
15 | let and convey, by sale or lease, such real and personal |
16 | property as shall be deemed to be to the best interest of the |
17 | township: Provided, That no real estate owned by the township |
18 | shall be sold for a consideration in excess of one thousand five |
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1 | hundred dollars except to the highest bidder after due notice by |
2 | advertisement for bids or advertisement of a public auction in |
3 | one newspaper of general circulation in the township. Such |
4 | advertisement shall be published once not less than ten days |
5 | prior to the date fixed for the opening of bids or public |
6 | auction, and such date for opening bids or public auction shall |
7 | be announced in such advertisement. The award of contracts shall |
8 | be made only by public announcement at a regular or special |
9 | meeting of the board of township commissioners or at the public |
10 | auction. All bids shall be accepted on the condition that |
11 | payment of the purchase price in full shall be made within sixty |
12 | days of the acceptance of bids. |
13 | The board of township commissioners shall have the authority |
14 | to reject all bids if such bids are deemed to be less than the |
15 | fair market value of the real property. In the case of a public |
16 | auction, the board of township commissioners may establish a |
17 | minimum bid based on the fair market value of the real property. |
18 | Except as otherwise hereinafter provided in the case of |
19 | personal property of an estimated fair market value of less than |
20 | one thousand dollars, no township personal property shall be |
21 | disposed of, by sale or otherwise, except upon approval of the |
22 | board of township commissioners, by ordinance or resolution. In |
23 | cases where the board of township commissioners shall approve a |
24 | sale of such property, it shall estimate the fair market value |
25 | of the entire lot to be disposed of. If the board of township |
26 | commissioners shall estimate the fair market value to be one |
27 | thousand dollars or more, the entire lot shall be advertised for |
28 | sale once, in at least one newspaper of general circulation in |
29 | the township, not less than ten days prior to the date fixed for |
30 | the opening of bids or public auction, and such date of opening |
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1 | of bids or public auction shall be announced in such |
2 | advertisement, and sale of the property so advertised shall be |
3 | made to the best responsible bidder. A public auction of |
4 | personal property may be conducted by means of an online or |
5 | electronic auction sale. During an electronic auction sale, bids |
6 | shall be accepted electronically at the time and in the manner |
7 | designated in the advertisement. During the electronic auction, |
8 | each bidder shall have the capability to view the bidder's bid |
9 | rank or the high bid price. Bidders may increase their bid |
10 | prices during the electronic auction. The record of the |
11 | electronic auction shall be accessible for public inspection. |
12 | The purchase price shall be paid by the high bidder immediately |
13 | or at a reasonable time after the conclusion of the electronic |
14 | auction as determined by the board of township commissioners. In |
15 | the event that shipping costs are incurred, they shall be paid |
16 | by the high bidder. A township that has complied with the |
17 | advertising requirements of this clause may provide additional |
18 | public notice of the sale by bids or public auction in any |
19 | manner deemed appropriate by the board of township |
20 | commissioners. The advertisement for electronic auction sales |
21 | authorized in this clause shall include the Internet address or |
22 | means of accessing the electronic auction and the date, time and |
23 | duration of the electronic auction. The board of township |
24 | commissioners may reject any bids received if the bids are |
25 | believed to be less than the fair market value of the property. |
26 | The board of township commissioners shall, by resolution, adopt |
27 | a procedure for the sale of surplus personal property, either |
28 | individual items or lots of items, of an estimated fair market |
29 | value of less than one thousand dollars and the approval of the |
30 | board of township commissioners shall not be required for any |
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1 | individual sale that shall be made in conformity to such |
2 | procedure. |
3 | The provisions of this clause shall not be mandatory where |
4 | township property is to be traded in or exchanged for new |
5 | township property. |
6 | The provisions of this clause shall not prohibit the sale or |
7 | exchange of township property to public utilities. |
8 | The provisions of this clause requiring advertising for bids |
9 | or sale at public auction and sale to the highest bidder shall |
10 | not apply where township real or personal property is to be sold |
11 | to a county, city, borough, town, township, institution |
12 | district, school district, volunteer fire company, volunteer |
13 | ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad located within the |
14 | township, or [municipal authority pursuant to the Municipality |
15 | Authorities Act of 1945] authority as defined in 53 Pa.C.S. § |
16 | 5602 (relating to definitions), or to a nonprofit corporation |
17 | engaged in community industrial, commercial or affordable |
18 | housing development or reuse or where real property is to be |
19 | sold to a person for his exclusive use in an industrial |
20 | development program or where real property is to be sold to a |
21 | nonprofit corporation organized as a public library, or where |
22 | real property is to be sold to a nonprofit medical service |
23 | corporation as authorized by clause LXXII of section 1502, or |
24 | where real property is to be sold to a nonprofit housing |
25 | corporation as authorized by clause LXXIII of section 1502. When |
26 | real property is to be sold to a nonprofit corporation organized |
27 | as a public library or to a nonprofit medical service |
28 | corporation or to a nonprofit housing corporation the board of |
29 | township commissioners may elect to accept such nominal |
30 | consideration for such sale as it shall deem appropriate. Real |
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1 | property sold pursuant to this clause to a volunteer fire |
2 | company, volunteer ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad, |
3 | nonprofit medical service corporation or to a nonprofit housing |
4 | corporation shall be subject to the condition that when the |
5 | property is not used for the purposes of the company, service, |
6 | squad or the corporation the property shall revert to the |
7 | township. |
8 | Any officer who sells and each officer who votes in favor of |
9 | selling any township property, either real or personal, without |
10 | the provisions of this section having been complied with, shall |
11 | be subject to surcharge in the amount of any loss sustained by |
12 | the township by reason of such sale. |
13 | The exemption granted by this clause to nonprofit |
14 | corporations engaged in community, industrial, commercial or |
15 | affordable housing development or reuse shall not apply to |
16 | property owned and operated by the township or subcontracted or |
17 | operated on the behalf of the township in order to conduct |
18 | existing governmental functions. |
19 | Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. |
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