Bill Text: PA SB325 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: An Act amending the act of August 6, 1936 (Sp.Sess., P.L.95, No.38 1/2), entitled "An act to authorize and empower cities, boroughs, towns, and townships, separately or jointly, to provide for protection against floods by erecting and constructing certain works and improvements, located within or without their territorial limits, and within or without the county in which situate; and to expend moneys and incur indebtedness; to assess benefits against property benefited; to issue improvement bonds imposing no municipal liability; and to acquire, take, injure or destroy property for such purposes," further providing for competitive bidding of contracts.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 21-6)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-30 - Re-referred to APPROPRIATIONS [SB325 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB325-Introduced.html

---

PRINTER'S NO. 323
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 325 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY FERLO, EICHELBERGER, GORDNER, PILEGGI, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON, WONDERLING, M. WHITE, GREENLEAF, PIPPY, ALLOWAY, BOSCOLA, O'PAKE, ROBBINS, STOUT, FOLMER, ORIE, BAKER, SMUCKER, BROWNE, PICCOLA, BRUBAKER, CORMAN, KASUNIC, SCARNATI, MUSTO AND EARLL, FEBRUARY 20, 2009
REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 20, 2009
AN ACT
Amending the act of August 6, 1936 (Sp.Sess., P.L.95, No.38
1/2), entitled "An act to authorize and empower cities,
boroughs, towns, and townships, separately or jointly, to
provide for protection against floods by erecting and
constructing certain works and improvements, located within
or without their territorial limits, and within or without
the county in which situate; and to expend moneys and incur
indebtedness; to assess benefits against property benefited;
to issue improvement bonds imposing no municipal liability;
and to acquire, take, injure or destroy property for such
purposes," further providing for competitive bidding of
contracts.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 3 of the act of August 6, 1936 (Sp.Sess.,
P.L.95, No.38 1/2), entitled "An act to authorize and empower
cities, boroughs, towns, and townships, separately or jointly,
to provide for protection against floods by erecting and
constructing certain works and improvements, located within or
without their territorial limits, and within or without the
county in which situate; and to expend moneys and incur
indebtedness; to assess benefits against property benefited; to
issue improvement bonds imposing no municipal liability; and to
acquire, take, injure or destroy property for such purposes,"
amended July 10, 1990 (P.L.402, No.97), is amended to read:
Section 3. (a) No such works or improvements, involving an
expenditure by any municipality or municipalities of more than
[ten thousand dollars ($10,000)] twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000), subject to adjustment under subsection (b.1), shall
be erected, constructed or provided, except by contract let to
the lowest responsible bidder after due advertisement, once a
week for two successive weeks in at least one newspaper of
general circulation: Provided, however, That no contract shall
be required to be let for the performance of the work on any
such work or improvement where the cost of the labor shall be
paid by the Federal Government, or any agency thereof, without
cost to the municipality or municipalities.
(b) Written or telephonic price quotations from at least
three qualified and responsible contractors shall be requested
for all contracts that exceed [four thousand dollars ($4,000)]
seven thousand dollars ($7,000), subject to adjustment under
subsection (b.1), but are less than the amount requiring
advertisement and competitive bidding or, in lieu of price
quotations, a memorandum shall be kept on file showing that
fewer than three qualified contractors exist in the market area
within which it is practicable to obtain quotations. A written
record of telephonic price quotations shall be made and shall
contain at least the date of the quotation, the name of the
contractor and the contractor's representative, the
construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance or work which
was the subject of the quotation and the price. Written price
20090SB0325PN0323 - 2 -
quotations, written records of telephonic price quotations and
memoranda shall be retained for a period of three years.
(b.1) Adjustments shall be made as follows:
(1) Annually, beginning with the year in which this
subsection becomes applicable to contracts and purchases, the
Department of Labor and Industry shall calculate the percentage
change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-
U) for the United States city average for all items as published
by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, for the twelve-month average ending in September of
the prior year.
(2) The amount at which competitive bidding is required
under subsection (a) and the amount at which written or
telephonic price quotations are required under subsection (b)
shall be adjusted annually as follows:
(i) In the case of competitive bidding, the positive
percentage change, as determined in accordance with paragraph
(1), shall be multiplied by the amount applicable under
subsection (a) for the current year and the product thereof
shall be added to the amount applicable under subsection (a) for
the current year, with the result rounded to the nearest
multiple of ten dollars ($10).
(ii) In the case of written or telephonic price quotations,
the positive percentage change, as determined in accordance with
paragraph (1), shall be multiplied by the amount applicable
under subsection (b) for the current year and the product
thereof shall be added to the amount applicable under subsection
(b) for the current year, with the result rounded to the nearest
multiple of ten dollars ($10).
(3) The annual determination required under paragraph (1)
20090SB0325PN0323 - 3 -
and the calculation of the adjustments required under paragraph
(2) shall be made in the period between October 1 and November
15 of the year following the effective date of this subsection,
and annually between October 1 and November 15 of each
successive year.
(4) The adjusted amounts obtained in accordance with
paragraph (2) shall become effective January 1 for the calendar
year following the year in which the determination required
under paragraph (1) is made.
(5) The department shall give notice in the Pennsylvania
Bulletin prior to January 1 of each calendar year of the annual
percentage change determined in accordance with paragraph (1)
and the amounts, whether adjusted or unadjusted in accordance
with paragraph (2), at which competitive bidding is required
under subsection (a) and written or telephonic price quotations
are required under subsection (b) for the calendar year
beginning the first day of January after publication of the
notice.
(c) No municipality shall evade the provisions of this
section as to advertising for bids or purchasing materials or
contracting for services piecemeal for the purpose of obtaining
prices under [ten thousand dollars ($10,000)] the amount
required by this section upon transactions which should, in the
exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence, be conducted as
one transaction amounting to more than [ten thousand dollars
($10,000)] the amount required by this section. This provision
is intended to make unlawful the practice of evading advertising
requirements by making a series of purchases or contracts each
for less than the advertising requirement price or by making
several simultaneous purchases or contracts each below said
20090SB0325PN0323 - 4 -
price, when in either case the transaction involved should have
been made as one transaction for one price.
(d) Any member of a governing body of a municipality who
votes to unlawfully evade the provisions of this section and who
knows that the transaction upon which he so votes is or ought to
be a part of a larger transaction and that it is being divided
in order to evade the requirements as to advertising for bids
commits a misdemeanor of the third degree for each contract
entered into as a direct result of that vote.
(e) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction,
alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of public works
shall comply with the provisions of the act of March 3, 1978
(P.L.6, No.3), known as the "Steel Products Procurement Act."
Section 2. The amendment of section 3 of the act shall apply
to contracts and purchases advertised after December 31 of the
year in which this section takes effect.
Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
20090SB0325PN0323 - 5 -