PRINTER'S NO. 1006
No. 898 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY LESCOVITZ, DALEY, TRELLO AND CURRY, MARCH 13, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MARCH 13, 1997
AN ACT
1 Empowering the boards of commissioners of counties to modify the
2 amount of fees collected by county row officers for the costs
3 of providing certain products and services; providing for
4 petitions to the courts of common pleas in the case of
5 disputes; providing for public meetings and official actions
6 through ordinance adoption.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Short title.
10 This act shall be known and may be cited as the County Fee
11 Modification Act.
12 Section 2. Authority to increase or decrease fees or charges;
13 disputes; application of act.
14 (a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
15 law which prescribes an amount or otherwise limits the amount of
16 a fee or charge which may be levied by a county or a county row
17 officer, a county board of commissioners, with the assent of the
18 affected row officer, shall have the authority to increase or
19 decrease any such fee or charge, otherwise authorized to be
20 levied by another provision of law, in the amount reasonably
1 necessary to recover the cost of providing any product or
2 service or the cost of enforcing any regulation for which the
3 fee or charge is levied. A change in fees shall be approved only
4 upon completion of a cost documentation study performed by a
5 professional experienced in the field verifying the necessity of
6 the change. The fee or charge may reflect the cost of providing
7 any product or service or enforcing any regulation. For purposes
8 of this act, the cost of providing any product or service or the
9 cost of enforcing any regulation for which the fee or charge is
10 levied shall include:
11 (1) The actual cost of any materials or supplies
12 required for printing or otherwise providing for the product,
13 service, regulation or enforcement provided by the county or
14 county row officer.
15 (2) The actual cost of processing the necessary
16 paperwork, forms and related documentation required by law.
17 (3) The actual cost of apportioned labor required to
18 provide the service, including employee salaries and
19 benefits.
20 (4) The indirect costs associated with providing the
21 product or service, including, but not limited to, office
22 space charges, direct and amortized communication and
23 equipment costs, and utility charges.
24 (5) The pro rata cost of the cost documentation study
25 apportioned against the various fees and offices audited.
26 (b) Disputes.--If any person disputes whether a fee or
27 charge levied pursuant to subsection (a) is reasonable, the
28 person may petition the court of common pleas for the issuance
29 of a rule directed to the county to show cause why the change in
30 a fee or charge to be levied is necessitated. The court shall
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1 consider all relevant evidence required by subsection (a),
2 including the cost documentation study.
3 (c) Applicability.--This act shall not apply to any of the
4 following:
5 (1) Any fee, tax or charge which is levied by the
6 Commonwealth for Commonwealth purposes in which the county or
7 county row officer acts as the collection agent for the
8 Commonwealth.
9 (2) Any fee or charge that is prescribed by the Supreme
10 Count of Pennsylvania in accordance with 42 Pa.C.S. (relating
11 to judiciary and judicial procedure).
12 (3) Any fee charged or collected by a county recorder of
13 deeds for filing, recording or indexing of any document,
14 performing any service, issuing any certificate, or providing
15 a copy of any document.
16 (4) Any fees levied pursuant to 13 Pa.C.S. (relating to
17 commercial code).
18 (5) Any fee, tax or charge which is levied by the
19 Federal Government for Federal purposes and for which the
20 county or county row officer acts as collection agent for the
21 Federal Government.
22 (6) Any fee or charge prescribed by statute for the
23 purpose of training the affected row officer, deputy row
24 officer or related staff for which the rate is established in
25 statute.
26 Section 3. Development of schedule of fees or charges.
27 The schedule of fees or charges developed pursuant to section
28 2 shall be proposed by the commissioners in consultation with,
29 and with the agreement of, the affected row officer.
30 Section 4. Public meetings; notice; public data; action of
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1 board by ordinance; costs.
2 (a) Public meeting required.--Prior to approving an increase
3 in an existing fee or charge pursuant to section 2, the county
4 board of commissioners shall hold at least one public meeting
5 pursuant to the act of July 3, 1986 (P.L.388, No.84), known as
6 the Sunshine Act, at which oral or written presentations
7 relating to the increase may be made as part of a regularly
8 scheduled or special meeting. Notice of the time and place of
9 the meeting, including a general explanation of the matter to be
10 considered, and a statement that the data required by this
11 section is available shall be mailed, at least 14 days prior to
12 the meeting, to any interested party who files a written request
13 with the clerk of the county board of commissioners for mailed
14 notice of the meeting on increased fees or charges. Any written
15 request for mailed notices shall be valid for one year from the
16 date on which it is filed unless a renewal request is filed.
17 Renewal requests for mailed notices shall be filed on or before
18 October 1 of each year. The county board of commissioners may
19 establish a reasonable annual charge for sending these notices
20 based on the estimated cost of providing this service. At least
21 ten days prior to the meeting, the county board of commissioners
22 shall make available to the public data indicating the amount of
23 cost, or estimated cost, required to provide the product or
24 service or the cost of enforcing any regulation for which the
25 fee or charge is levied, as well as the revenue sources,
26 including general fund revenues, anticipated to provide the
27 product or service or the cost of enforcing any regulation.
28 (b) Ordinance required.--Any action by a county board of
29 commissioners to levy a new fee or charge or to approve an
30 increase in an existing fee or charge shall be taken only by
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1 ordinance.
2 Section 5. Records to be kept by county row officers.
3 Each county row officer shall keep records and accounts of
4 fees collected as a result of duties and responsibilities
5 prescribed for the row office. In counties where one person is
6 elected to fulfill the responsibilities of two or more county
7 row offices, separate records and accounts shall be maintained
8 for each row office held.
9 Section 6. Construction of act.
10 (a) General rule.--This act shall not be construed as
11 granting authority to levy any fee or charge which is not
12 otherwise authorized by law, nor shall its provisions be
13 construed as granting authority to levy a new fee or charge when
14 other provisions of law specifically prohibit the levy of a fee
15 or charge.
16 (b) Home rule counties.--The provisions of this act shall
17 not affect any authority granted to a county under the
18 provisions of a home rule charter or an optional plan.
19 (c) Exclusive use.--Increases in fees or charges authorized
20 by this act shall be used exclusively to support operation of
21 the county row office rendering the service for which the fee
22 was levied.
23 (d) Specific limitation.--This act shall not be construed as
24 authorizing counties to utilize its provisions in supporting the
25 operations of general county government.
26 Section 7. Repeals.
27 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
28 inconsistent with this act.
29 Section 8. Applicability.
30 A county shall initially implement this act at the beginning
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1 of its fiscal year which immediately follows the effective date
2 of this act.
3 Section 9. Effective date.
4 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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