An Act amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in neighborhood blight reclamation and revitalization, further providing for municipal permit denial.

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 269 PRINTER'S NO. 982
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 316
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY D. WILLIAMS, PIELLI, SANCHEZ, GIRAL, HILL-EVANS,
KENYATTA, KHAN, CIRESI, DONAHUE, DALEY, GREEN, MADDEN AND
CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, JANUARY 23, 2025
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MARCH 17, 2025
AN ACT
Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in neighborhood blight reclamation and
revitalization, further providing for municipal permit
denial.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 6131(a) of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
§ 6131. Municipal permit denial.
(a) Denial.--
(1) A municipality or a board under subsection (c) may
deny issuing to an applicant a municipal permit if the
applicant owns real property in any municipality for which
there exists on the real property:
(i) a final and unappealable tax, water, sewer or
refuse collection delinquency on account of the actions
of the owner; [or]
(ii) a serious violation of State law or a code and
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the owner has taken no substantial steps to correct the
violation within six months following notification of the
violation and for which fines or other penalties or a
judgment to abate or correct were imposed by a
magisterial district judge or municipal court, or a
judgment at law or in equity was imposed by a court of
common pleas. However, no denial shall be permitted on
the basis of a property for which the judgment, order or
decree is subject to a stay or supersedeas by an order of
a court of competent jurisdiction or automatically
allowed by statute or rule of court until the stay or
supersedeas is lifted by the court or a higher court or
the stay or supersedeas expires as otherwise provided by
law. Where a stay or supersedeas is in effect, the
property owner shall so advise the municipality seeking
to deny a municipal permit[.]; or
(iii) a delinquency in real property taxes or
municipal charges, or an unabated serious violation of
State law or a municipality code, and the real property
is owned by a corporation or limited liability
corporation COMPANY or a principal of a limited liability
corporation COMPANY , incorporated inside or outside of
this Commonwealth.
(2) A municipality or board shall not deny a municipal
permit to an applicant if the municipal permit is necessary
to correct a violation of State law or a code.
(3) The municipal permit denial shall not apply to an
applicant's delinquency on taxes, water, sewer or refuse
collection charges that are under appeal or otherwise
contested through a court or administrative process.
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(4) In issuing a denial of a permit based on an
applicant's delinquency in real property taxes or municipal
charges or for failure to abate a serious violation of State
law or a code on real property that the applicant owns in
this Commonwealth, the municipality or board shall indicate
the street address, municipal corporation and county in which
the property is located and the court and docket number for
each parcel cited as a basis for the denial. The denial shall
also state that the applicant may request a letter of
compliance from the appropriate State agency, municipality or
school district, in a form specified by such entity as
provided in this section.
(5) A corporation or limited liability corporation
COMPANY or a principal of a limited liability corporation
COMPANY or their agent shall disclose in writing at the
submission of an application any delinquencies in real
property taxes or municipal charges or unabated serious
violation of State law or a municipality code on any real
property owned by the applicant within any municipality.
Failure to disclose under this paragraph shall result in the
imposition of a $1,000 fine payable to the municipality.
* * *
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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