THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY ROSS, MILLARD, BELFANTI, BEYER, BOYD, CLYMER, CREIGHTON, DENLINGER, EVERETT, FLECK, GEIST, GINGRICH, GRELL, HENNESSEY, HESS, HICKERNELL, KILLION, MILNE, O'NEILL, PICKETT, RAPP, SIPTROTH, SONNEY, STABACK, STERN, THOMAS AND VULAKOVICH, FEBRUARY 18, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 18, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending the act of June 24, 1931 (P.L.1206, No.331), entitled

"An act concerning townships of the first class; amending,

revising, consolidating, and changing the law relating

thereto," further providing for suits and property.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 1501 of the act of June 24, 1931 (P.L.

1206, No.331), known as The First Class Township Code, reenacted

and amended May 27, 1949 (P.L.1955, No.569) and amended December

19, 1997 (P.L.618, No.64), is amended to read:

Section 1501.  Suits; Property.--Townships of the first class

may--

I.  Sue and be sued.

II.  Purchase, acquire by gift, or otherwise, hold, lease,

let and convey, by sale or lease, such real and personal

property as shall be deemed to be to the best interest of the

township: Provided, That no real estate owned by the township

shall be sold for a consideration in excess of one thousand five

hundred dollars except to the highest bidder after due notice by

advertisement for bids or advertisement of a public auction in

one newspaper of general circulation in the township. Such

advertisement shall be published once not less than ten days

prior to the date fixed for the opening of bids or public

auction, and such date for opening bids or public auction shall

be announced in such advertisement. The award of contracts shall

be made only by public announcement at a regular or special

meeting of the board of township commissioners or at the public

auction. All bids shall be accepted on the condition that

payment of the purchase price in full shall be made within sixty

days of the acceptance of bids.

The board of township commissioners shall have the authority

to reject all bids if such bids are deemed to be less than the

fair market value of the real property. In the case of a public

auction, the board of township commissioners may establish a

minimum bid based on the fair market value of the real property.

Except as otherwise hereinafter provided in the case of

personal property of an estimated fair market value of less than

one thousand dollars, no township personal property shall be

disposed of, by sale or otherwise, except upon approval of the

board of township commissioners, by ordinance or resolution. In

cases where the board of township commissioners shall approve a

sale of such property, it shall estimate the fair market value

of the entire lot to be disposed of. If the board of township

commissioners shall estimate the fair market value to be one

thousand dollars or more, the entire lot shall be advertised for

sale once, in at least one newspaper of general circulation in

the township, not less than ten days prior to the date fixed for

the opening of bids or public auction, and such date of opening

of bids or public auction shall be announced in such

advertisement, and sale of the property so advertised shall be

made to the best responsible bidder. A public auction of

personal property may be conducted by means of an online or

electronic auction sale. During an electronic auction sale, bids

shall be accepted electronically at the time and in the manner

designated in the advertisement. During the electronic auction,

each bidder shall have the capability to view the bidder's bid

rank or the high bid price. Bidders may increase their bid

prices during the electronic auction. The record of the

electronic auction shall be accessible for public inspection.

The purchase price shall be paid by the high bidder immediately

or at a reasonable time after the conclusion of the electronic

auction as determined by the board of township commissioners. In

the event that shipping costs are incurred, they shall be paid

by the high bidder. A township that has complied with the

advertising requirements of this clause may provide additional

public notice of the sale by bids or public auction in any

manner deemed appropriate by the board of township

commissioners. The advertisement for electronic auction sales

authorized in this clause shall include the Internet address or

means of accessing the electronic auction and the date, time and

duration of the electronic auction. The board of township

commissioners may reject any bids received if the bids are

believed to be less than the fair market value of the property.

The board of township commissioners shall, by resolution, adopt

a procedure for the sale of surplus personal property, either

individual items or lots of items, of an estimated fair market

value of less than one thousand dollars and the approval of the

board of township commissioners shall not be required for any

individual sale that shall be made in conformity to such

procedure.

The provisions of this clause shall not be mandatory where

township property is to be traded in or exchanged for new

township property.

The provisions of this clause shall not prohibit the sale or

exchange of township property to public utilities.

The provisions of this clause requiring advertising for bids

or sale at public auction and sale to the highest bidder shall

not apply where township real or personal property is to be sold

to a county, city, borough, town, township, institution

district, school district, volunteer fire company, volunteer

ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad located within the

township, or [municipal authority pursuant to the Municipality

Authorities Act of 1945] authority as defined in 53 Pa.C.S. §

5602 (relating to definitions), or to a nonprofit corporation

engaged in community industrial, commercial or affordable

housing development or reuse or where real property is to be

sold to a person for his exclusive use in an industrial

development program or where real property is to be sold to a

nonprofit corporation organized as a public library, or where

real property is to be sold to a nonprofit medical service

corporation as authorized by clause LXXII of section 1502, or

where real property is to be sold to a nonprofit housing

corporation as authorized by clause LXXIII of section 1502. When

real property is to be sold to a nonprofit corporation organized

as a public library or to a nonprofit medical service

corporation or to a nonprofit housing corporation the board of

township commissioners may elect to accept such nominal

consideration for such sale as it shall deem appropriate. Real

property sold pursuant to this clause to a volunteer fire

company, volunteer ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad,

nonprofit medical service corporation or to a nonprofit housing

corporation shall be subject to the condition that when the

property is not used for the purposes of the company, service,

squad or the corporation the property shall revert to the

township.

Any officer who sells and each officer who votes in favor of

selling any township property, either real or personal, without

the provisions of this section having been complied with, shall

be subject to surcharge in the amount of any loss sustained by

the township by reason of such sale.

The exemption granted by this clause to nonprofit

corporations engaged in community, industrial, commercial or

affordable housing development or reuse shall not apply to

property owned and operated by the township or subcontracted or

operated on the behalf of the township in order to conduct

existing governmental functions.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.