HOUSE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 817, 1662 PRINTER'S NO. 2228
No. 753 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY STOUT, CORMAN, STEWART, BRIGHTBILL, PUNT, LEMMOND,
PORTERFIELD, MADIGAN, AFFLERBACH, REIBMAN AND PETERSON,
MARCH 23, 1989
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MAY 30, 1990
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of August 6, 1936 (Sp.Sess., P.L.95, No.38
2 1/2), entitled "An act to authorize and empower cities,
3 boroughs, towns, and townships, separately or jointly, to
4 provide for protection against floods by erecting and
5 constructing certain works and improvements, located within
6 or without their territorial limits, and within or without
7 the county in which situate; and to expend moneys and incur
8 indebtedness; to assess benefits against property benefited;
9 to issue improvement bonds imposing no municipal liability;
10 and to acquire, take, injure or destroy property for such
11 purposes," further regulating purchases and bidding on such
12 purchases.
13 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14 hereby enacts as follows:
15 Section 1. Section 3 of the act of August 6, 1936 (Sp.Sess.,
16 P.L.95, No.38 1/2), entitled "An act to authorize and empower
17 cities, boroughs, towns, and townships, separately or jointly,
18 to provide for protection against floods by erecting and
19 constructing certain works and improvements, located within or
20 without their territorial limits, and within or without the
21 county in which situate; and to expend moneys and incur
1 indebtedness; to assess benefits against property benefited; to
2 issue improvement bonds imposing no municipal liability; and to
3 acquire, take, injure or destroy property for such purposes,"
4 amended December 22, 1981 (P.L.553, No.163), is amended to read:
5 Section 3. (a) No such works or improvements, involving an
6 expenditure by any municipality or municipalities of more than
7 [four thousand dollars ($4,000)] ten thousand dollars ($10,000) <--
8 THE MONETARY THRESHOLD LEVEL FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OR <--
9 MUNICIPALITIES, shall be erected, constructed or provided,
10 except by contract let to the lowest responsible bidder after
11 due advertisement, once a week for two successive weeks in at
12 least one newspaper of general circulation: Provided, however,
13 That no contract shall be required to be let for the performance
14 of the work on any such work or improvement where the cost of
15 the labor shall be paid by the Federal Government, or any agency
16 thereof, without cost to the municipality or municipalities.
17 (B) THE MONETARY THRESHOLD LEVEL ABOVE WHICH COMPETITIVE <--
18 BIDDING SHALL BE REQUIRED SHALL BE ONE PER CENTUM OF THE TOTAL
19 OF ALL BUDGETS ADMINISTERED BY THE MUNICIPALITY OR
20 MUNICIPALITIES, BUT IN NO CASE SHALL THE MONETARY THRESHOLD BE
21 LESS THAN FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS ($4,000), NOR MORE THAN TEN
22 THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000).
23 (C) WRITTEN OR TELEPHONIC PRICE QUOTATIONS FROM AT LEAST
24 THREE QUALIFIED AND RESPONSIBLE CONTRACTORS SHALL BE REQUESTED
25 FOR ALL CONTRACTS THAT EXCEED FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS ($4,000) BUT
26 ARE LESS THAN THE AMOUNT REQUIRING ADVERTISEMENT AND COMPETITIVE
27 BIDDING OR, IN LIEU OF PRICE QUOTATIONS, A MEMORANDUM SHALL BE
28 KEPT ON FILE SHOWING THAT FEWER THAN THREE QUALIFIED CONTRACTORS
29 EXIST IN THE MARKET AREA WITHIN WHICH IT IS PRACTICABLE TO
30 OBTAIN QUOTATIONS. A WRITTEN RECORD OF TELEPHONIC PRICE
19890S0753B2228 - 2 -
1 QUOTATIONS SHALL BE MADE AND SHALL CONTAIN AT LEAST THE DATE OF
2 THE QUOTATION, THE NAME OF THE CONTRACTOR AND THE CONTRACTOR'S
3 REPRESENTATIVE, THE CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, REPAIR,
4 MAINTENANCE OR WORK WHICH WAS THE SUBJECT OF THE QUOTATION AND
5 THE PRICE. WRITTEN PRICE QUOTATIONS, WRITTEN RECORDS OF
6 TELEPHONIC PRICE QUOTATIONS AND MEMORANDA SHALL BE RETAINED FOR
7 A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS.
8 (b) (D) No municipality shall evade the provisions of this <--
9 section as to advertising for bids or purchasing materials or
10 contracting for services piece-meal, for the purpose of
11 obtaining prices under ten thousand dollars ($10,000) THE <--
12 MONETARY THRESHOLD LEVEL FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OR MUNICIPALITIES
13 upon transactions which should in the exercise of reasonable
14 discretion and prudence be conducted as one transaction
15 amounting to more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) THE <--
16 MONETARY THRESHOLD LEVEL FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OR MUNICIPALITIES.
17 This provision is intended to make unlawful the practice of
18 evading advertising requirements by making a series of purchases
19 or contracts each for less than the advertising requirement
20 price, or by making several simultaneous purchases or contracts
21 each below said price, when in either case the transaction
22 involved should have been made as one transaction for one price.
23 (c) (E) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, <--
24 alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of public works
25 shall comply with the provisions of the act of March 3, 1978
26 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the "Steel Products Procurement Act."
27 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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