PRINTER'S NO. 58
No. 55 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY THOMAS, TIGUE, DeWEESE, YOUNGBLOOD, CRUZ, BARD,
BELARDI, COHEN, COY, GEORGE, HARHAI, KELLER, LaGROTTA,
LAUGHLIN AND LEDERER, JANUARY 29, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, JANUARY 29, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act relating to the finances of the State
3 government; providing for the settlement, assessment,
4 collection, and lien of taxes, bonus, and all other accounts
5 due the Commonwealth, the collection and recovery of fees and
6 other money or property due or belonging to the Commonwealth,
7 or any agency thereof, including escheated property and the
8 proceeds of its sale, the custody and disbursement or other
9 disposition of funds and securities belonging to or in the
10 possession of the Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims
11 against the Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and
12 appeals to the courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to
13 the Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth
14 and all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
15 moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
16 and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
17 authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
18 to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
19 section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
20 Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
21 certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
22 department, board, commission, and officer of the State
23 government, every political subdivision of the State, and
24 certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
25 association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
26 collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
27 imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
28 other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
29 every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
30 Commonwealth," further providing for deposit of funds from
31 the sale of abandoned and unclaimed property; providing for
32 the Public School Capital Projects and Technology Fund; and
33 providing for an annual appropriation to the Department of
1 Education.
2 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3 hereby enacts as follows:
4 Section 1. Section 1301.18 of the act of April 9, 1929
5 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, amended June 29,
6 2002 (P.L.614, No.91), is amended to read:
7 Section 1301.18. Deposit of Funds.--(a) [All] Except as
8 otherwise provided in section 1301.18a, all funds received under
9 this article, including the proceeds from the sale of property
10 under section 1301.17, shall forthwith be deposited by the State
11 Treasurer in the General Fund of the Commonwealth except that
12 the State Treasurer shall retain in a separate trust fund an
13 amount not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) plus
14 twenty per centum of deposits and sums paid to the State
15 Treasurer under subsection (c) of section 1301.13 during the
16 preceding twelve (12) months from which the State Treasurer
17 shall make reimbursements under section 1301.14 and prompt
18 payment of claims duly allowed under section 1301.19. Before
19 making the deposit, the State Treasurer shall record the name
20 and last known address of each person appearing from the
21 holders' reports to be entitled to the property and of the name
22 and last known address of each insured person or annuitant, and
23 with respect to each policy or contract listed in the report of
24 an insurer, its number, the name of the insurer and the amount
25 due. The record with respect to any specific claim shall be
26 available to the claimant at all regular business hours.
27 (b) The General Assembly shall annually appropriate to the
28 State Treasurer such funds as it deems necessary and appropriate
29 to administer this article.
30 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
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1 Section 1301.18a. Public School Capital Projects and
2 Technology Fund.--(a) The Public School Capital Projects and
3 Technology Fund is established in the State Treasury. The moneys
4 of the fund shall be invested in accordance with law and shall
5 be used exclusively for the purposes set forth in this section.
6 (b) (1) Except for the amount required to be deposited into
7 the separate trust fund designated under section 1301.18(a),
8 fifteen per centum of all funds received by the State Treasurer
9 under this article including the proceeds from the sale of
10 property under section 1301.17 shall annually be deposited into
11 the Public School Capital Projects and Technology Fund. These
12 moneys shall be designated as the principal of the fund.
13 (2) An owner who is entitled to make a claim for property
14 that has been transferred to the Public School Capital Projects
15 and Technology Fund may waive the owner's right, title and
16 interest in the property and make a gift of the property to the
17 fund. The identity of an owner who makes such a donation to the
18 fund shall remain anonymous unless the owner agrees in writing
19 to the release of the owner's name.
20 (3) The fund may accept donations from any person.
21 (c) If the owner of property that has been transferred to
22 the Public School Capital Projects and Technology Fund makes a
23 claim to the State Treasurer under this article and the amount
24 in the separate trust fund designated under section 1301.18(a)
25 is insufficient to pay the claim, the State Treasurer shall pay
26 the claim from the interest or, if the interest is insufficient,
27 the principal of the Public School Capital Projects and
28 Technology Fund.
29 (d) On an annual basis, the interest earned on the moneys of
30 the Public School Capital Projects and Technology Fund and the
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1 amount transferred to the fund are hereby appropriated on a
2 continuing basis to the Department of Education for the purpose
3 of making grants to public schools for capital projects and for
4 enhancing technology. The Department of Education shall develop
5 an equitable means for making grants under this section.
6 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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