PRINTER'S NO. 4358
No. 2839 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY GEIST AND McCALL, JUNE 26, 2006
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, JUNE 26, 2006
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 74 (Transportation) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, further providing for metropolitan
3 transportation authority powers relating to alternative means
4 of raising revenue or reducing expenses.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Section 1741(a)(24) of Title 74 of the
8 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
9 § 1741. General powers.
10 (a) Powers enumerated.--An authority shall have and may
11 exercise all powers necessary or convenient for the carrying out
12 of the purposes of this chapter, including the following rights,
13 powers and duties:
14 * * *
15 (24) To explore alternative means of raising revenue or
16 reducing expenses, including, but not limited to, real estate
17 leases and rentals, equipment leases and rentals, contracting
18 of services, the solicitation of competitive bids and the
1 awarding of contracts to the highest responsive, responsible
2 bidder for both interior and exterior advertising on all
3 authority equipment on which the public is charged a fare for
4 riding. [However, on rail passenger units only bids for
5 interior advertising shall be solicited.] Nothing in this
6 chapter or in any other law of this Commonwealth shall
7 preclude the negotiation and execution of contracts with
8 respect to real estate-related matters in accordance with and
9 subject solely to the provisions of this paragraph. The
10 general manager may recommend in writing that the board make
11 a finding of special opportunity with respect to a real
12 estate-related matter. The board shall consider the general
13 manager's recommendation at a public meeting. The notice
14 given in accordance with the act of July 3, 1986 (P.L.388,
15 No.84), known as the Sunshine Act, with respect to such
16 meeting shall state that the board will consider making a
17 finding of special opportunity at such meeting and shall
18 describe the nature of the proposed finding of special
19 opportunity. Any finding of special opportunity shall be
20 approved by the board in accordance with the provisions of
21 section 1715 (relating to meetings, quorum, officers and
22 records). The board shall adopt, by resolution, a process
23 under which the authority shall enter into contracts needed
24 to implement a finding of special opportunity. The process
25 adopted by the board shall provide a method of prequalifying
26 prospective contracting parties, where appropriate; for the
27 reasonable notification of prospective contracting parties of
28 the issuance of requests for proposals and the reasonable
29 opportunity for qualified prospective contracting parties to
30 submit proposals; for review of proposals from qualified
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1 prospective contracting parties; for the negotiation of
2 contracts with one or more prospective contracting parties;
3 for award of contracts on the basis of evaluation of the
4 characteristics of the proposals; and for giving such weight
5 to the various characteristics of any proposal as the board
6 shall determine is in the best interest of the authority. The
7 characteristics by which proposals may be evaluated under a
8 finding of special opportunity may include the likely
9 complexity of the transaction; the amount of investment any
10 selected contracting party will be required to make or offers
11 to make in the real estate-related matter; the experience and
12 prior success of the proposed contracting party in other
13 similar dealings with the same type of real estate-related
14 matters or with the authority; the quality, feasibility and
15 potential for economic success of the proposal; any cost or
16 potential return to the authority; the economic reliability
17 and financial viability of the proposed contracting party;
18 the compatibility of the proposal with the authority's basic
19 function as a public transportation provider; the date by
20 which the proposed contracting party agrees to complete the
21 real estate-related matter; and other factors which the board
22 shall specify. The authority shall make available a copy of
23 the process adopted by the board to any person requesting a
24 copy of the process. The general manager may make a written
25 recommendation to the board concerning the award of a
26 contract under a finding of special opportunity. The general
27 manager's recommendation shall include the identity of the
28 prospective contracting party or parties, the purpose of the
29 contract, the substance of the finding of special
30 opportunity, the substance and term of the proposed contract,
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1 the identities of any other prospective contracting parties
2 who submitted proposals and the criteria upon which the
3 general manager's recommendation was made and the reasons for
4 selecting the prospective contracting party. Upon the written
5 recommendation of the general manager, the board may award
6 contracts under this paragraph after approving the awarding
7 of the contract by a resolution adopted at a public meeting.
8 The notice given in accordance with the Sunshine Act with
9 respect to such meeting shall state that the board will
10 consider awarding a contract under a finding of special
11 opportunity at such meeting and shall describe the subject
12 matter of such proposed contract. The authority shall by
13 April 15 of each year submit a report to the department. The
14 report shall detail the actions of the authority in exploring
15 alternate means of raising revenue and reducing expenses. The
16 department shall review the report and issue its findings and
17 recommendations to the Appropriations Committee and the
18 Transportation Committee of the Senate and the Appropriations
19 Committee and the Transportation Committee of the House of
20 Representatives no later than 30 days after receipt of such
21 report for review and consideration of future funding by such
22 committees. Where any alternate means have been rejected, the
23 authority shall demonstrate that the feasibility and cost-
24 effectiveness of that alternate means have been considered.
25 As used in this paragraph, "finding of special opportunity"
26 shall mean a written determination by the board that
27 exclusion of a real estate-related matter from bidding
28 procedures, as provided in this chapter or any other law,
29 will be in the best interest of the authority and will be
30 compatible with the authority's basic function as a public
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1 transportation provider, considering the nature of the real
2 estate-related matter with respect to which the authority
3 proposes to contract. Any finding of special opportunity
4 shall include the basis on which the finding of special
5 opportunity is being made.
6 * * *
7 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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