PRINTER'S NO. 875
No. 784 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY TRELLO, LAUGHLIN, WOZNIAK, HALUSKA, MELIO, NAHILL,
MERRY, HECKLER, BARLEY, DISTLER, ADOLPH, COLAFELLA,
VAN HORNE, DOMBROWSKI, LEH, FARGO, BELFANTI, COWELL,
PISTELLA, HERMAN, ROBBINS, RITTER, STEIGHNER, HAGARTY, NOYE,
McCALL, FLICK, ROBINSON, CORNELL, VEON, GLADECK, McVERRY,
CLYMER, OLASZ, BIRMELIN, GEIST, S. H. SMITH, BILLOW,
GIGLIOTTI, E. Z. TAYLOR, R. C. WRIGHT, BURD, REBER AND
CORRIGAN, MARCH 14, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MARCH 14, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of February 1, 1966 (1965 P.L.1656, No.581),
2 entitled "An act concerning boroughs, and revising, amending
3 and consolidating the law relating to boroughs," further
4 providing for the awarding of contracts.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Subsections (a) and (b) and the first paragraph
8 and clause (2) of subsection (d) of section 1402, and sections
9 1403 and 1405 of the act of February 1, 1966 (1965 P.L.1656,
10 No.581), known as The Borough Code, amended December 22, 1981
11 (P.L.537, No.155), are amended to read:
12 Section 1402. Regulation of Contracts.--(a) All contracts
13 or purchases in excess of [four thousand dollars ($4,000)] ten
14 thousand dollars ($10,000), except those hereinafter mentioned,
15 shall not be made except with and from the lowest responsible
16 bidder after due notice in one newspaper of general circulation
1 in the borough, at least three times at intervals of not less
2 than three days where daily newspapers of general circulation
3 are available for such publication, in case of weekly
4 newspapers, such notice once a week for two successive weeks.
5 The first advertisement shall be published not less than ten
6 days prior to the date fixed for the opening of bids. The amount
7 of the contract shall in all cases, whether of straight sale
8 price, conditional sale, bailment lease, or otherwise, be the
9 entire amount which the borough pays to the successful bidder or
10 his assigns in order to obtain the services or property, or
11 both, and shall not be construed to mean only the amount which
12 is paid to acquire title or to receive any other particular
13 benefit or benefits of the whole bargain. In awarding bids,
14 council shall have the right to take into consideration such
15 other factors as the availability, cost and quality of service.
16 (b) The acceptance of bids shall only be made by public
17 announcement at the meeting at which bids are received, or at a
18 subsequent meeting, the time and place of which shall be
19 publicly announced when bids are received. If for any reason one
20 or both of the above meetings shall not be held, the same
21 business may be transacted at any subsequent meeting if at least
22 five days' notice thereof shall be published in the newspaper
23 aforesaid. [Council may request that a certified check, in an
24 amount to be determined, by it, shall accompany every bid and,
25 when requested, no bid shall be considered unless so
26 accompanied.] At council's request, all bids advertised for
27 shall be accompanied by cash, money order, a certified or
28 cashier's good faith check, or a bond with corporate surety in
29 such amount as council shall determine, and, when requested, no
30 bid shall be considered unless so accompanied.
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1 * * *
2 (d) The contracts or purchases made by council, involving an
3 expenditure of over [four thousand dollars ($4,000)] ten
4 thousand dollars ($10,000), which shall not require advertising
5 or bidding as hereinbefore provided, are as follows:
6 * * *
7 (2) Those made for improvements, repairs and maintenance of
8 any kind, made or provided by any borough, through its own
9 employes: Provided, That all materials used for street
10 improvement, maintenance and/or construction in excess of [four
11 thousand dollars ($4,000)] ten thousand dollars ($10,000) be
12 subject to the advertising requirements contained herein;
13 * * *
14 Section 1403. Evasion of Advertising Requirements.--No
15 member or members of council shall evade the provisions of
16 section 1402 hereof as to advertising for bids, by purchasing or
17 contracting for services and personal properties piecemeal for
18 the purpose of obtaining prices under [four thousand dollars
19 ($4,000)] ten thousand dollars ($10,000) upon transactions,
20 which transactions should, in the exercise of reasonable
21 discretion and prudence, be conducted as one transaction
22 amounting to more than [four thousand dollars ($4,000)] ten
23 thousand dollars ($10,000) This provision is intended to make
24 unlawful the evading of advertising requirements by making a
25 series of purchases or contracts, each for less than the
26 advertising requirement price, or by making several simultaneous
27 purchases or contracts, each below said price, when, in either
28 case, the transactions involved should have been made as one
29 transaction for one price. Any members of council who so vote in
30 violation of this provision and who know that the transaction
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1 upon which they so vote is or ought to be a part of a larger
2 transaction and that it is being divided in order to evade the
3 requirements as to advertising for bids, shall be jointly and
4 severally subject to surcharge for ten percent of the full
5 amount of the contract or purchase. Whenever it shall appear
6 that a member of council may have voted in violation of this
7 section but the purchase or contract on which he so voted was
8 not approved by council, this section shall be inapplicable.
9 Section 1405. Separate Bids for Plumbing, Heating,
10 Ventilating and Electrical Work.--In the preparation for the
11 erection, construction and alteration of any public building,
12 when the entire cost of such work shall exceed [four thousand
13 dollars ($4,000)] ten thousand dollars ($10,000), the architect,
14 engineer, or other person preparing such specifications may, if
15 so requested by the borough council, prepare separate
16 specifications for the plumbing, heating, ventilating and
17 electrical work. The person or persons authorized to enter into
18 contracts for the erection, construction or alteration of such
19 public buildings may, if such separate specifications shall have
20 been proposed, receive separate bids upon each of the said
21 branches of work and shall thereupon award the contract for the
22 same to the lowest responsible bidder for each of said branches.
23 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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