PRINTER'S NO. 1512
No. 1309 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY ALLEN, LUCYK, McCALL, HAYES, HESS, TELEK,
S. H. SMITH, GEORGE, ANGSTADT, BLACK, BUSH AND ARGALL,
APRIL 25, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, APRIL 25, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 14, 1961 (P.L.324, No.188), entitled
2 "An act relating to the establishment, operation and
3 maintenance of the State Library and public libraries in the
4 Commonwealth; amending, revising, consolidating and changing
5 the laws relating thereto; imposing duties upon public
6 officers; providing for State and local cooperation and
7 assistance in the establishment and maintenance of libraries;
8 prescribing penalties; and repealing existing laws," further
9 regulating equalization aid to libraries.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. Section 303(b)(6) of the act of June 14, 1961
13 (P.L.324, No.188), known as The Library Code, amended July 10,
14 1985 (P.L.195, No.50), is amended to read:
15 Section 303. State-aid.--* * *
16 (b) Subject to the limitations in subsection (a), State-aid
17 shall be paid when a library achieves the applicable standards
18 determined by counselling with the State Librarian pursuant to
19 the advice and recommendations of the Advisory Council on
20 Library Development, or submits plans as set forth in section
21 304 of this act leading to the achievement of such standards,
1 and makes a minimum financial effort as follows, except that no
2 library receiving State-aid prior to and at time of the approval
3 of this act shall receive less State-aid as a result of the
4 provisions hereof notwithstanding that such library has not
5 accepted the provisions of this act:
6 * * *
7 (6) Equalization Aid. Beginning in the 1985-1986 fiscal
8 year, in each year that the Commonwealth's total annual
9 appropriation for the system of State-aid established by section
10 301 equals or exceeds seventeen million five hundred thousand
11 dollars ($17,500,000), two and three-quarters percent (2.75%) of
12 said appropriation shall first be allocated as equalization aid.
13 Any local library or library system which achieves or exceeds
14 applicable basic standards, maintains or exceeds its financial
15 effort of the preceding year and is supported by a municipality
16 that is economically distressed by any one or more of the
17 following criteria shall qualify for equalization aid. For
18 purposes of determining eligibility for equalization aid, an
19 economically distressed municipality shall be: (i) a city,
20 borough, town or township having a market value per capita below
21 the fifth percentile of all such cities, boroughs, towns and
22 townships, as certified annually by the State Tax Equalization
23 Board; (ii) located in a county having a personal income per
24 capita below the fifteenth percentile of all counties, as
25 certified annually by the Department of Revenue; or (iii)
26 located in a county having an annual average unemployment rate
27 above the seventieth percentile of all counties, as determined
28 annually by the Department of Labor and Industry. Population
29 data to be used for determining market value per capita and
30 personal income per capita, as provided for in this clause,
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1 shall be the latest available data from the Federal Bureau of
2 Census for the direct service area of the local library or
3 library system.
4 In the case of a library or library system that is supported
5 by an economically distressed municipality but that fails to
6 maintain or exceed its financial effort of the preceding year,
7 the library may still qualify for equalization aid if the State
8 Librarian accepts evidence that the library or municipality did
9 not attempt to substitute State funds for local effort.
10 Beginning in the 1985-1986 fiscal year, twenty percent (20%)
11 of the annual allocation for equalization aid shall first be
12 distributed in equal amounts to all local libraries and members
13 of library systems which qualify for such aid, as determined in
14 accordance with the provisions of this clause. The remainder of
15 the annual allocation shall be distributed on a per capita basis
16 to each local library and library system which qualifies for
17 such aid, as determined in accordance with the provisions of
18 this clause, by dividing the number of persons residing in the
19 direct service area of each such local library or library system
20 by the total number of such persons residing in the direct
21 service areas of all qualifying local libraries or library
22 systems, and multiplying the result by the amount of the
23 allocation to be distributed on a per capita basis.
24 No local library or library system shall, as a result of the
25 provisions of this clause, receive in any year more than one-
26 third of the total annual appropriation for equalization aid.
27 During the 1985-1986 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter
28 that the Commonwealth's total annual appropriation for the
29 system of State-aid established by section 301 exceeds seventeen
30 million five hundred thousand dollars ($17,500,000), no local
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1 library or library system shall receive less equalization aid as
2 a result of the provisions of this clause than such local
3 library or library system received for equalization aid during
4 the 1984-1985 fiscal year.
5 * * *
6 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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